It's Kind of a Dangerous Story
by Google Girl11
Summary: When someone volunteers to take Emmalyn's place as the District 2 tribute, she thinks she can safely go of to University in the fall. Due to a surprise from the volunteer tribute, it turns out Emma will be the District 2 tribute after all. Cato/OC
1. Chapter 1

**It's Kind of a Dangerous Story**

So I read the Hunger Games and went to see the movie and absolutely fell in love with Cato. Obviously, Alexander Ludwig is an uber hottie, but I just liked how they added more to the character. The Glimmer/Cato thing was kinda cute and I loved how at the end Cato does his speech about how no one gets out of the Hunger Games. I really dug it.

Anyways, since Cato is now one of my favorite characters (though he can't come back in the other movies so I'm super disappointed…) I've decided to write a fanfiction for him and the Hunger Games. Just a heads up, I'm rather horrible about completing my chaptered stories and I rush things to get to the smut scenes, but I'm going to try to be better. The last time I've written anything creative was over 3 years ago and hopefully I've developed some sort of discipline in the meantime.

As for my character, Emmalyn, she's based off of Emma Roberts' looks. I have a girl crush on her, what can I say? And so if you were trying to get a mental picture of the characters, Alexander Ludwig and Emma Roberts are the people you want to look up, though obviously the characters in the story are not Xander and Em.

On to the story!

I lied! **Disclaimer!** I don't own squat!

Now to the story!

* * *

"You look beautiful, Emmalyn," Emma's father said to her as she emerged from her bedroom. Sneaking a glance at the floor length mirror, Emma shrugged. She supposed she did look very pretty, with her dark hair falling naturally into waves just past her shoulders, something that she gained from her mother, she's been told numerous times. Her dress was rather simple: just a silk blue mini dress that she accessorized with a studded belt.

"Thanks dad, but you know I don't like when you call me Emmalyn. Makes me think I'm in trouble!" She went to hug him. "I just don't get why we need to dress up for the Reaping Day. Unless of course, you are planning on volunteering, then I guess you'd want to look nice. But I have zero to no desire to participate in the Hunger Games."

"Did I tell you that I'm so proud of you for getting in to Oxvard? Your mother was the only one in her family to go to University and now you are continuing her legacy," Her father hugged her back. "Though I'm glad that you aren't volunteering because those heels are ridiculous. You'd fall if you'd had to climb up those stairs."

He was referring to Emma's caged stilettos, the real reason she went the mini dress route. They were her favorite shoes, but due to her fairly empty social schedule, she never got enough chances to wear them. "Oh father." She swatted at him playfully. "This is my skill. I freaking rock high heels. If I made it into the Hunger Games, I'd walk around in 12 inch heels and gain all the sponsors."

Her father shook his head at her. "Hey, let's not joke about the Hunger Games. This is your last Reaping and even though your name is only in there six times compared to the hundreds of other kids who put their names in as many times as allowed, let's not knock it. You are all I have left."

"Daddddd…" Emma went and gave him another hug. "I love you. But on the rare chance I get picked, all those other kids, the Careers, they would volunteer. They've been training their whole life for this opportunity and I'm sure there are a few people from my graduating class that want a stab at it." She kissed his cheek. "I'm going off to the town center now. I'll grab something for dinner and then come back and we can play a game of chess before the Hunger Games talk takes over our television."

* * *

"Hey Babe!" Emma greeted Gideon with a quick peck on the lips. "Ready to go?"

Gideon took a step back and looked Emma up and down. "Wow Em, you look great. Why don't you let me show you off in public more?" he joked.

Emma stuck her tongue out at him. "Because you say every time we go out, my heels get higher and higher and eventually I'll be taller than you! But it's not my fault that I'm only 5'2 but have the heart of a 5'9 girl! "

Grabbing her hand and placing a kiss on her pouting lips, Gideon laughed. "Well you better not make yourself 5'9. I'm only 5'7 and I'm not about to be the short one in this relationship." He smiled, "Come on. Let's go to the Reaping."

* * *

Allowing him to lead her, Emma and Gideon went to the town center to check in. As she waited in the girls' line, she found herself drifting off into her thoughts. What would happen to her and Gideon when she went off to University? They had been dating for roughly a year, and though he was Emma's first real serious boyfriend, Emma was almost certain she was in love with him. Both social wallflowers, they bonded over their hatred of the Hunger Games and how they decided not to train to be a Career tribute, which was the minority in District Two. The prick from the blood sample brought her out of her thoughts. "Ouch!" she said, rubbing the tender area.

"Emmalyn Gilner, confirmed. Go on and stand with your age group," drawled the check in lady. Emma shook her head. She could never understand why someone would want to work in any area that had to do with the Hunger Games. Knowing that two of the people that you took blood from would most likely die in the next couple of weeks for a stupid competition would definitely leave some mental scars for Emma.

Emma headed over to her age group and took a look around. The children were herded towards the middle while the nervous parents stood in the sidelines. Emma's father stopped coming after the first couple of Reapings once he realized that there would always be a volunteer to take Emma's place if she didn't want to go. Too many kids in her District invested money and years into training for the Hunger Games to let it all go to waste. Emma, on the other hand, spent her childhood studying to join the medical field. It had been her dream ever since she found out that her mother, who had died giving birth to Emma, could have been saved had the doctors acted differently. Then again, District Two citizens were known for being warriors, not doctors.

Pantil Dipstock's voice rang over the crowd thanks to the microphone she was using and the many speakers set up around the square. "Good afternoon District Two and welcome to the Reaping for the 74th Hunger Games!" She paused to let the crowd cheer. "I know you are all waiting to find out who will be your tributes this year, but first, a word from the Capitol!"

Sighing, Emma turned to the screen in the center of the square. It was the same video every year, explaining the districts, the Hunger Games, and hyping up the slaughtering of children. "Gag me," Emma muttered under her breath.

When the movie ended, Pantil clapped her hands and moved the Reaping along. "First, let us have the boys. I know, I know, normally, it's ladies first, but let's mix it up this year!" She stuck her hand in the bowl containing the males' names, gave her wrist a flick and grabbed a slip. Unrolling it, she read, "Simun Lapios!"

The boys from the 15 year old group started to shift around as if to let the person through when a voice called out, "I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!"

Turning her head toward the voice, Emma saw a boy from her graduating class throw his hand up in the air. Pantil smiled and shooed the original tribute away. "Don't bother coming up here Simun, we have a volunteer to take your place!" Directing her attention to the volunteer, she asked, "What is your name? Normally volunteers wait til the original tribute at least make it the stage; someone's excited! Come on up here."

"Yes!" cried Cato, doing a fist pump before bounding up the stairs to the stage. He gave Pantil's hand a shake and took his stance on the stage, beaming the audience a grin. Speaking into the microphone, he boldly said, "Cato Gudjudge."

Emma released the breath she didn't realize she was holding. _No Gideon. Thank God._ She rolled her eyes at Cato, though. They were the same age, and though they only had a physical training class together, that was enough exposure to have Emma judge his character. From what she's seen, Cato was extremely strong and surprisingly quick for his 6'2 frame and muscular build. He was a Career Tribute, through and through. Because of this he was extremely cocky and arrogant, which led his and Emma's interactions to be rather short and few. It made sense that he would be so eager to volunteer; this was his last Reaping and he wouldn't want to miss his chance to put his training to the ultimate test. The next name took her by surprise. "Emmalyn Gilner! Come on up!"

It took Emma a few seconds to realize that her name had been called. The girl standing next to her, someone she recognized from around school, gave her a nudge toward the stage. Shaking her head, Emma strode up to the stage and managed to climb the steps rather gracefully (_Take that, dad!)_ and stood on the other side of Pantil. "Well isn't she just adorable!" crooned Patil. "What an attractive pair of tributes we have this year!"

Glancing at Cato, Emma saw her point. As much she found Cato to be annoying, he was rather handsome, especially when he was dressed up. His height and his strength add to his looks, but his face was a photographer's dream. He had deep blue eyes, and a strong jaw line. He tended to smirk quite a bit too, and though Emma hated it, she had to admit that it worked for him. "C'mon Em," Cato turned that smirk on her. "This will be fun."

Emma smiled back, "Thanks but actually I was hoping for someone to volunteer for me." Addressing the crowd, she announced, "I feel like there are better qualified women out there. Anyone willing?" Immediately hands shot up and names called out, but the first girl who volunteered was actually the girl that nudged her towards the stage. A bit surprised since Emma would have never categorized her as a Career, Emma waited for her to climb to the stairs and introduce herself before she took her leave. Apparently that girl's name was Noelle Starke and though she was a year younger than Cato and Emma, Emma was more than happy to give Noelle her place as tribute. Shaking both Cato's hand and Noelle's, Emma said to them, with a playful tone, "And may the odds ever be in your favor!" Before leaving the stage and heading back to her spot in the crowd. She found Gideon staring at her and sent him a reassuring wink before turning around and heading home, realizing that she had dodged a most certain death and being extremely grateful for it.

* * *

The next few days were rather relaxing for Emma. She had just settled into her favorite sofa chair with a good book when there was a banging on her door. "Dadddddddd! Can you answer that please?" The knocking continued, louder this time. "DADDDDD. THE DOOR!" Finally, when it was rather obvious that her father wasn't going to answer the door, Emma got up and did it herself.

She was greeted with Pantil's smiling face and about a half dozen cameras pointed in her direction. "Um, hello. Did I miss something? Was I suppose to be dressed up for our apparent meeting?" Emma asked.

Pantil's smile just grew bigger, looking almost painfully forced. "Emmalyn, honey, I have some exciting news. So Noelle, you know, the girl who volunteered for you. Well turns out she is three months pregnant and we can't be having a pregnant girl in our Hunger Games and the Game Master feels it would be too much work to arrange for all the females to get together again to have another volunteer so congrats! You are going to be District Two's Female Tribute!" She hugged the dazed Emma who could only awkwardly pat Pantil's back. "You'll get two hours to say goodbye to everyone before you get put on the train to the Capitol. Emma, honey, you don't look so good. Emma?"

And that's when Emma's world turned black and she collapsed into Pantil's arms. "Oh great," snarled Pantil. "She fainted."

* * *

Hopefully this has enough to keep you going. I already have this story mapped out in my head but unfortunately finals weeks is coming up and I have a poopton of work but I really do love this couple so I'll try to keep it going.

Oh and I have no clue what Cato's last name is, and apparently Cato means "Good Judge" hence "Gudjudge." Lol. That's horrible, sorry. I suck at making up names.

Please shoot me a review and let me know how you feel. Honest is the best policy. :]


	2. Chapter 2

So thank you for the reviews! I'm glad people aren't overly upset with my slow start. Just a heads up, I went back into chapter one and changed the Reaping scene just a little. I wanted to have Cato volunteer over someone else, one, because I finally did a tiny bit of research and he was a volunteer tribute. And two, because I think it adds to his cockiness/character.

Hopefully from here I can have you guys love my OC, Emma, and I don't bore you to death with the scenes that come since so many people have written about the interviews/the training blah blah blah. Hang in there with me.

Also I'm making this the 74th Hunger Games, and most people are the same except I don't want Peeta and Katniss in it cause I don't want to have to maybe kill them off. And I don't want them stealing the show.

**Disclaimer:** I'm hungry. But I don't own the Hunger Games.

* * *

When Emma regained consciousness moments later, she found herself being supported by a struggling Pantil. "Oh thank God," muttered Pantil when Emma found her footing and was able to stand on her own. Readjusting her wild wig and tugging her tight pencil skirt down into place, she smiled. "Too much excitement for you? No worries, darling! The camera crew can edit that out."

Emma shook her head to clear it. "I'm really sorry about that. I just thought that…" It dawned on her that she really had regained her position as a tribute for the 74th Hunger Games. "Oh God!"

Sprinting to the bathroom, the contents of Emma's stomach poured out into the toilet. When she was left with only dry heaves and positive her stomach was empty, she splashed cold water on her face and brushed her teeth. Leaving the bathroom, she was met with a frowning Pantil. "Now Emma, I'm sorry that this news caught you by surprise, but we really are on a tight schedule. The train leaves for the Capitol in…" she checked her obnoxiously shiny watch. "An hour. Luckily for you though, the news of you becoming the tribute has spread quite quickly and the people who want to say good bye to you are right outside!"

Ushered inside her bedroom, her visitors were funneled in, some in groups, some in pairs, and others by themselves. Her father was the first to come. He looked disheveled with tears freely raining down his face. Pulling her into a tight hug, he cried, "My darling Emmalyn, this isn't fair. You are going somewhere in the world! How dare they do this to you! To us!"

Crying into his chest, Emma nodded. "I know dad. I don't want to die."

A knock on the door signaled that they had a minute left together. Wiping away his tears, her father cupped her face. "Emmalyn, you are intelligent. You are logical. You are beautiful and likeable. Use what you have to survive. I may not have sent you to the Career Academy, and that's my fault. But you can win by other means. Take advantage. I believe in you. And I can't lose you. You are all I have left. Here." He clasped a chain around her neck. Looking down, Emma realized the pendant was a ring with a small diamond on it. "It was your mother's wedding ring. Wear it to keep you safe."

Giving a weak smile, Emma promised, "I will do everything in my power to win, dad. I want to live. Thank you so much for everything."

Kissing her forehead, her father allowed the peacekeepers to herd him out of the room. Gideon took his place. Running into his arms, Emma cried, "Gideon, I can't believe this is happening to me." She noticed that his embrace seemed awkward and his reply was to only pat her head. "I have a future! A future that takes me to University! Not to the Hunger Games. I'm better than this!"

When Gideon didn't say anything, she looked up. His face seemed blank and his embrace was distant. "Gideon, say something."

He sighed and let go of her. "Well Emma, baby, you know I love you. But this…this was unexpected. I start University in a few months and it's going to be hard. I need to be mentally prepared."

Emma's eyes narrowed. "What are you saying?"

He ran a hand through his hair sheepishly. "I, uh. I'm just saying that I need to be able to focus on my studies. And if I'm mourning over my girlfriend's death and it's all so stressful and I think distance is going to be what's best for us. For now. I mean, if you win that'll be great! But –"

His sentence was interrupted by the sharp SMACK of Emma's hand connecting with his face. "How dare you take this moment to break up with me? You selfish self centered disgusting pig. You have already resigned to the idea that I'm going to die! And even if I did, why not just let me think we were still together until then? I still would have been out of your hair anyways."

Gideon gingerly rubbed his cheek. "I was just thinking how now you don't have to worry about me."

"Worry about you! What is there to worry about when you are safe in our District, while I'm off fighting for my life against 23 other people?" She shook her head. "You disgust me. Leave."

"Em, I'm sorry. I still love you but c'mon. We are both logical people. Think about it. You know your chances of surviving are slim and-"

"GO."

Gideon started to leave but turned last minute to say goodbye. "Good luck, Emma."

Once the door closed and she was left alone, Emma crumpled onto the floor. The fire had left her and she was just cold, sad and scared. She had no clue how she was going to survive the day, nonetheless the actual Hunger Games themselves.

The door opened and Pantil stuck her head in. "Emma darling, time for the train! Cato has already arrived at the station!" Drudging to her feet, Emma allowed Pantil to guide her into the car that would take her to the train. "You'll love the Capitol. So colorful and full of life! And the food! Yummy!" Emma nodded absentmindedly and allowed Pantil to prattle on until they arrived at the train station.

At the station, she was met with Cato and their mentor, Felix Publimse, the winner from the 68th Hunger Games. He was the strong and silent type, who tended to answer in grunts rather than with words. Pantil smiled at him and Cato, while pushing the reluctant Emma onto the train. "Come on dear. We'll move at 200 miles per hour and yet you won't feel anything! It'll be a grand experience!"

* * *

The ride to the Capitol would be a short one, seeing as they only had to pass through District 1 to reach it. Emma had resigned to sitting in the dining cart and staring longingly out the window, letting the tears come and go. Cato and Felix were at another table, recounting the 68th Hunger Games and all of Felix's good finishing moves.

Emma didn't glance over when Pantil approached her. "I know this doesn't seem like the ideal situation, but think of all the pretty dresses you'll get to wear for the ceremonies now that you are a tribute!"

She knew Pantil was only trying to make her feel better, but she couldn't help but give her a cold smile. Wiping her eyes, she icily stated, "Sorry, but I don't really feel pretty right now. Those pretty dresses would be wasted on me."

Cato scoffed. "Girls. All they care about are pretty and shiny things."

Emma shot him a glare while Pantil laughed. "You mean there is more to life than that?" Turning back to Emma, she nudged her towards the door. "In the next car you'll find I've laid out an outfit for you to change into as well as some make up that I think would match your skin tone. You'll want to look presentable for the crowds when you get off and are escorted around. Sponsors love the beauties." Cato snickered. She smiled at him. "Cato love, I have laid out an outfit for you as well. Men need to look sharp. You may have the skills to win the Hunger Games, but you'll want the sponsors, too. If you can steal them from other tributes, your odds of winning only get higher!"

Cato only rolled his eyes, but he obediently went to the door opposite of Emma's to change into his outfit. Nodding towards Emma, he stated, "Quit crying. District Two is one to be feared. You'll look like a piece of meat out there with the way you've been acting. Don't make yourself an easy target."

Shooting him an icy look, she had to admit it – Cato was right.

* * *

Normally Emma would be nervous about what someone with the fashion style from the Capitol would lay out for her, but her nerves about the Hunger Games outweighed them. Luckily, Pantil had laid out a strapless blue floral dress, which hit slightly above her knee. The waist was cinched with a matching belt that tied as a fan. The shoes were the best part, in Emma's opinion. They were nude platform stilettos that had to be the highest shoes she had ever worn. "If only dad could see me now," she said to herself sadly. Neglecting the jewelry selection laid out for her in favor for the necklace her father gave her, she left her hair down and applied some make up to her eyes and lips. Once done, she gave a nod of approval to her reflection in the mirror and headed towards the door. "No more crying, Emma. No one likes a cry baby. You don't want to seem weak. Win by any means necessary."

* * *

A squeal greeted her when she reentered the dining cart. "EEEEEEE! I just knew that it would look gorgeous on you! You have a quite wonderful figure, you know," praised Pantil.

Giving her a small smile, she replied, "Thank you. You have great taste. I love these heels!"

"Someone's finally in a better mood," stated Cato as he returned from changing.

"I think you just killed that mood," snapped back Emma.

Cato took in her appearance, looking her up and then down before giving her a nod of approval. "Well at least you look better then."

Emma rolled her eyes and went to the window. "How much longer until we are at the Capitol?"

Smiling, Pantil answered, "After this tunnel, we are there!"

As if on cue, the train windows turned black to signal that they had entered the tunnel. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she reopened them to see that they were approaching the platform where masses of Capitol citizens were crowded in hopes of seeing the tributes from District Two.

Finding it hard not to smile back at the enthusiastic citizens all rushing the train and waving excitedly, Emma decided to play the part. As Emma waved and smiled back, Pantil whispered to Felix, "Told you she'd come around."

* * *

The next couple of hours passed in a blur, with Emma finding new found respect for Pantil. Emma and Cato had been passed from area to area to wave at the citizens and to get a quick tour of the Capitol as well as a history lesson on the Hunger Games, all this while Emma was dressed up in those sky high heels. Pantil and Felix were the ones giving the tour and kept herding them around the Capitol, Pantil spouting off random facts enthusiastically while Felix made sure the citizens kept in check.

Emma had slowed to a near crawl. "Pantil," she panted. "How do you keep walking in these things? My feet hurt so bad."

Pantil lightly smacked her on the back. "Posture, love. People are taking your pictures at every moment. You want to give them your best angles and you can't do that with a hunch in your back!"

Sighing, Emma corrected her posture. _Sacrifices must be made_. Trudging along, she tried to keep up.

Thankfully Cato's stomach rumbled. "Any chance we are stopping to eat soon?"

"Yes please!" agreed Emma, leaning on a light pole for support.

Pointing at Emma, Pantil scolded, "Posture! And I suppose we could head back. It's only a few more blocks and we'll be back to the hotel for our feast!"

Pushing off the pole, Emma slowly followed. As the gap between her and the group grew, Emma decided she was just going to take off the shoes and deal with Pantil's wrath. "C'mon," said Cato as he swept her up in his arms and carried her bridal style back to the group.

"Whaaa!" cried Emma, caught by surprise. Wrapping her arms around Cato's neck, she asked, "What are you doing?"

Cato shook his head. "I'm starving and at the pace you were making us go, we wouldn't have eaten for another hour."

Emma frowned. "Well…thanks, I guess." Her feet did feel much better now that she didn't have to walk.

Pantil was beaming at them. "Why aren't you guys just adorable! Quick, keep that pose when we are about to enter the hotel. Photo op!"

Turning on to the block where the hotel was, the group was barraged with cameras flashing and Capitol citizens trying to get close to the tributes.

Smiling for the cameras, Emma threw up her arms, acting as if Cato carrying her was the best thing ever. He was playing the part as well, placing her gently on her feet and then twirling her before dipping her in front of the crowd. Pulling her back up, Emma playfully pushed his chest, acting as if her and Cato were the closest of friends. He answered by giving her his signature smirk and a wink.

Thankfully, Emma and Cato were finally herded inside, where they quickly dropped the façade. "That was perfect!" cried Pantil. "You guys played it up well! You know…you guys might be able to pull off the boyfriend/girlfriend routine if you wanted."

"No!" exclaimed Emma, much too loudly. Cato just raised his eyebrow at her. "I mean, sorry. I have a boyfriend back home." _Or at least I did._

Pantil pouted. "Too bad. We can work the friend angle at least. Make you guys more likable."

Glancing at Cato, Emma offered up, "Cato and I were from the same graduating class. We could play off being friends."

Cato shrugged. "Sure."

Clapping her hands together, Pantil beamed. "You guys are going to be great! I'm so glad we've figured this out! We even did it before dinner! Getting sponsors for you two will be easy!"

Felix's stomach growled this time. "Speaking of dinner…"

"Oh right! Follow me!" Pantil led them into a grand dining room. "Your feast awaits!"

* * *

The food in the Capitol really WAS much better, Emma decided. Her and Cato managed to make it through dinner with minimal bickering and Felix and Pantil tried their best to give advice to the pair. Deciding to eat her feelings, Emma gorged on dinner, to the point where when she finally went off to her room she had her heels in her hand and the belt that matched her dress had long been taken off.

Once in her room, Emma struggled into a tank top and some pajama bottoms before collapsing on her bed. Expecting to burst into a fountain of tears, she was surprise when exhaustion hit her and she instantly fell asleep.

* * *

Emma woke to a sharp rapping on her door. "Emma honey! Time to get up and go to the stylists! Rise and sssHIIINNNNNEEEeeeee!" sang Pantil.

Groaning, Emma rolled over and tried to go back to sleep before shooting up and realizing that she was not in her bed at home. Sighing, a few tears managed to leak out of her eyes. Wiping them away, she reminded herself, "No crying. Be strong."

Rushing through a shower and dressing in skinny jeans and a hoodie, Emma arrived just in time for breakfast to be set out. Grabbing a bagel and some eggs, Emma eyed the donuts longingly before deciding that she was in a terrible situation that she didn't ask for – she could have a damn donut.

Sitting at the table across from Cato, he smirked at her. "Carbo loading already?"

Her eyes narrowed at him. "Shut up." She threw piece of bagel at him which he easily swatted away.

"You two act like children! I swear!" scolded Pantil.

Emma swallowed her bite. "Hey, we are both 18. Technically we are young adults."

"Don't you think you should slow down on the food? You are off to see your stylists today. It's the Opening Ceremony!" Pantil couldn't keep the excitement out of her voice.

Dejected, Emma pushed her plate away. "Finnnneeeee."

"There you go, my dear! You never know what outfits they might stick you in. You wanna look your best for the sponsors!" praised Pantil.

Emma and Cato exchanged an eye roll. _Well at least we are on the same page on that._

* * *

Emma was glad that she didn't finish her breakfast. After the stylist team had finished ripping almost every hair out of Emma's body and scrubbing her skin raw, they moved her onto the head stylist.

Sitting awkwardly on the table, clothed only in a thin hospital robe, Emma was surprised when her stylist lacked most of the flair of the Capitol. "Hey there, my name is Dawn," she smiled.

Dawn was dressed in frayed blue jean shorts, brown cowboy boots, and a loose white blouse. Her hair was black at the roots and gradually progressed to blonde at her tips, which hit an inch or two below her shoulders.

Smiling back, Emma asked, "Are you here to make me look pretty?"

Laughing, Dawn replied, "You are already gorgeous, Emmalyn. Can't you tell? You didn't come to us in bad shape, unlike some of the other districts."

"Ha. Thanks? ….What are you going to make me wear?" asked Emma timidly.

Dawn sighed. "I'm sorry, but it's going to be rather scanty. Luckily you have the body for it."

"What do you mean by scanty?"

* * *

Unfortunately for the District Two tributes, known for their weapons and their warriors and with the stylists going for the gladiator look, scanty meant Emma would be wearing a strapless, brown leather dress that only just barely covered her butt. The sides had strategic cut outs and zipped up the front. The bottom half of the dress was cut into strips and allowed for a little bit of movement. She had leather arm cuffs on with gold bangles and her hair was allowed to remain wavy, but was put into a side ponytail and a brown and gold headband held most of her hair back, except for her fringe. The only saving grace for Emma when it came to this costume was that she got to wear gold gladiator stilettos.

"What do you think? Honestly?" asked Dawn after Emma had completely changed.

Emma glanced at herself in the mirror. "Honestly? I love the shoes. And my boobs look great. But…it's so revealing…"

Shrugging, Dawn agreed. "There was nothing I could do. This was the compromise I got from the other stylist. She wanted you and Cato to have matching costumes, and the original design was to have you both nearly naked then have strategic placement of props."

"I feel nearly naked," confessed Emma. "But I won't be in this long. I should be fine." _Don't complain. No one likes a complainer. Worst things are going to happen to you. Plus Gideon will see this and know what he lost._ That last comment made Emma smirk to herself. _Douchebag. _

Dawn smiled. "I promise you, your other outfits won't be this painfully exposed. And your boobs do look great."

Emma laughed while walking out the door that led to where Cato and the other tributes were held. Walking over to where Cato was standing next to their chariot, Emma's breath caught. Cato was bare-chested and wearing only a brown leather gladiator skirt, leather arm cuffs, a red cape, and a gold helmet. _He may look silly, but that boy has the body of a god._

She was pulled out of her thoughts when Cato gruffly said, "I feel stupid."

Giving him a sympathetic smile, Emma told him, "We were supposed to have matching costumes. I'm very glad we didn't go that route. Though I feel like I'm not wearing much material. I also can't bend down."

Cato laughed. "You gonna be able to manage in those?" He pointed to her shoes.

Emma playfully punched his arm. "If I can't will you carry me again?"

Nodding at her outfit, he warned, "I feel like if I go to pick you up, your girls might bust out of their holding cell."

"Hey!" Emma tugged at the top of her dress. "Now I'm self conscious. Thanks for that."

"Not that I'd mind…"He winked at her.

"In your dreams," she scolded. "We are only friends, remember?"

He scoffed, all playfulness gone from his voice, "If even that."

That caused Emma to scowl, but she couldn't continue the conversation because they were being herded on the chariot. _Please just let this night be over with soon_.

* * *

Sorry for the shitty ending, it isn't where I wanted to stop, but this chapter is getting long and I have class in 6 hours so I should probably stop here. I just saw the Hunger Games in theaters again (I feel like I catch something new every time!) and so I hope I can get another chapter out soon cause my love for this couple has been renewed.

Review, flame, fave, whatevers. Just lemme know you are reading :]


	3. Chapter 3

So I'm debating whether or not to put in a lemon in this chapter. It wouldn't be detailed, but I have a set way I want the story to go and I'm not sure if I'm rushing the story or not. Gah. Decisions, decisions. I guess we'll just see how the story plays out!

**Disclaimer**: I'm poor and uncreative.

* * *

Luckily for Emma, the introductory ceremony went rather fast. As the chariots pulled back onto the platform for the tributes to dismount from, Emma noticed the tributes from District One eying them. Glancing at Cato, she noticed that he was smirking at the female tribute. Using this as an opening, the District One tributes walked over to Cato and Emma to introduce themselves.

"Oh my," spoke the female tribute with a playful tone, "I will be rather upset to have to kill this one. He has such an attractive face." Her male counterpart laughed and nodded at Cato.

Cato replied good naturedly, "No need to get upset just cause I will be the one to win this thing. If you want, I'll put off killing you until the end." He winked at her.

She giggled and stuck out her hand. "Glimmer. Pleased to meet you." Nodding her head towards the male tribute she added, "This is Marvel."

Instead of shaking her hand, Cato took it and brought it to his lips, giving it a light kiss and causing Glimmer to blush. "The pleasure is all mine. I'm Cato."

Emma stuck her hand out towards Marvel. "I'm Emma, hello."

Marvel eyed her hand warily before glancing at Glimmer. Glimmer instantly frowned. "We've heard about YOU," she answered for Marvel, voice drenched with venom.

Realizing that no one was going to shake her hand, Emma lowered it and offered a small smile. "Ha. Sucks, doesn't it?"

"Not for us," Glimmer looked at Marvel and Cato and laughed. She patted the top of Emma's head. "I promise your death will be quick. I can't promise that it'll be painless though…"

The smile instantly fell from Emma's lips and her eyes narrowed. "Don't write me off so quickly. You'll be surprised how underestimating your opponent will backfire."

"Em, you are no career. You'll be lucky to survive the first couple of days."

Emma turned a glare at Cato, in disbelief he'd throw her under the bus like that. "Your arrogance is your least attractive quality, Cato. I'm determined to win. I have a bright future ahead of me." She felt her eyes watering. "This is the peak of your lives. After the Hunger Games, if you guys even survive it, you'll have nothing left to live for. I feel sorry for you guys, for living such an empty life."

Choosing to ignore Emma's outburst, Glimmer smirked at her. "Got something in your eye, dear? Or did you just realize how hopeless your situation really is?"

Turning towards Cato, Emma spat out, "I hope you sleep with her real soon because she is going to be the first person I kill." Leaving the conversation, Emma headed towards the elevators, angry tears falling from her eyes.

Unfortunately, since all the tributes were funneling to the elevators, Emma had to wait in line, awkwardly trying to hide her tears from both the sponsors and the other tributes. She was the last in line and thought she would be rewarded with a solitary ride back to her room, but as soon as she stepped into the box, Cato followed in behind her. "Oh COME ON!" she yelled, moving to the opposite end of the elevator, giving her and Cato as much space as possible.

He rolled his eyes at her. "Quit being such a baby."

Something inside Emma snapped. Shoving Cato as hard as she could, she caught him by surprise and sent him smashing into the button console, effectively hitting every button above "two," the one they needed.

Recovering slowly, Cato rubbed a spot above his eyebrow. When his finger showed blood, the look he gave Emma frightened her and yet hardened her will to fight.

Cato rushed her, intending on tackling her to the floor, but Emma's small size helped her dodge his initial move. Her moves were confined due to her limited mobility with her dress and heels, but she was still able to aim a kick or two in Cato's direction, thankful that her father regularly sent her to intense self defense classes.

The small area of the elevator greatly restricted the fight, and soon Emma realized that Cato had managed to trap her in a corner. Cato closed in on Emma, who attempted to push him back, but to no avail. Grabbing her by the throat and lifting her easily off the ground, Emma clawed desperately at Cato's hand, completely vulnerable. Leaning in, Cato locked eyes with Emma. "I could kill you right now. At this very moment. I can kill you because I am stronger than you. I am more skilled. Always remember that."

Though struggling to breathe, Emma used Cato's lack of distance to slam her elbow upward, catching him hard in the face. Surprised, Cato dropped Emma and clutched his eye, while Emma scooted away from him, gasping for breath. Growling, "I'll take the stairs," Cato turned to the elevator doors which had just opened, and left, leaving Emma both terrified and relieved at the same time.

* * *

Emma woke up the next morning, extremely sore. Examining herself in the mirror, she gingerly touched her neck where dark bruises had formed. She applied some make up to her neck and left her hair down in attempts to cover the bruising, even though it was the first day of training. The bruising would just bring up questions she didn't want to answer.

She was greeted at the dining room with the sight of Cato, scowling over his breakfast, nursing a black eye. This caused her to smirk, pleased that she was able to leave a mark on Cato and in a spot where he was unable to hide it. Catching Felix's eye, she was unable to read his look, though, when he gave her a small smile, she realized he was impressed with her. Grabbing some food, she took the spot opposite of Cato, regretting that the table only sat four people and thus limited her seat options when it came to distancing herself from Cato.

Delicately biting into her ham, Emma was disappointed to find that her throat was too sore to swallow solid food and thus she was forced to eat oatmeal. Cato seemed to notice this and teased her from across the table, consuming mass amounts of meat and exaggerating how good it tasted. This was interrupted by Pantil bursting into the room. "HOW COULD YOU GUYS BE SO…SO…IRRESPONSIBLE!"

Emma looked downward and flinched inwardly while Cato just stared at Pantil. "Did you not realize that the elevators have cameras in them? Or that you aren't suppose to harm another tribute UNTIL YOU GET TO THE GAMES? Your…spar is the front page on every news outlet! I was trying to promote the fact that you guys are good friends and you pull this! What is this! How did this even happen? I want answers!"

Cato pushed away his plate of food. "Asked her. She started it."

Glaring, Emma replied, "'She started it?' How immature are we?"

Pantil looked between the two and just shook her head. "Fine. Don't tell me. But work your issues out or save it for the actual Games. And try to be civil to each other in public. I still have to do the now near impossible job of trying to find you sponsors."

She left the pair, with Felix excusing himself shortly after. The rest of their breakfast was eaten in silence.

* * *

Cato and Emma arrived separately for training. Looking around, she spotted him with the two tributes they met last night. The girl, Glimmer, was tenderly fawning over Cato's black eye. When Emma caught her eye, Glimmer sent her a look so intense Emma had to resist the shiver it gave her. Glimmer stepped towards Emma, perhaps to say something, but luckily for Emma, the trainers chose this time to start.

"There are trainers at all stations. I know many of you guys want to go immediately for the weapons, but don't forget about the survival skills stations. The elementals have just as high a chance of killing you as your opponents do. Practice, ask questions, and please, save the real fighting for the Games." This last comment was directed towards Emma and Cato, the only two tributes sporting injuries before the training had even started.

Emma realized that the careers were starting an alliance, and though she hated their guts, she knew she had to find a way into the pack. She'd be at a serious disadvantage otherwise, more so than she already was.

Avoiding the careers, and yet picking survival stations that allowed her to over look their progress, Emma confirmed what she already knew. She was screwed. Marvel was an ace with the spears, and though Glimmer struggled with the bow and arrow, she was competent enough with a dagger. Emma already knew Cato's strength – the sword. In school, he was always in the top three for the duels, even when against those of older age. Deadly with most weapons, Cato still chose to stick with the weapons stations instead of attempting the survival ones. Forming a strategy in her head, Emma decided that if she couldn't join the careers, she'd have to run and attempt to survive on her own and avoid confrontation.

At the edible plant station, Emma met a little girl, with tan skin and dark hair. A bulge formed in her throat just looking at the girl. _She's so young. She has so many years ahead of her_. Before she could move on, the girl looked up and smiled at Emma. Offering her hand, she said timidly, "Hi…I'm Rue."

Smiling back, Emma shook it. "Hi Rue. I'm Emmalyn, but you can call me Emma. You seem to know a lot about plants."

Rue nodded. "Yes! I recognize a lot of them from my District, 11."

"Want to teach me some pointers?" asked Emma, genuinely happy she met this little girl.

Eyes lighting up, Rue grabbed Emma's hand and eagerly pointed out various plants, with Emma making mental notes. "These are dandelions. They are weeds but they are edible! And these are…"

* * *

The next couple weeks went by quickly. Emma was pretty sure she had a good handle on most of the survival skills, but she was borderline hopeless with weapons. They just felt so awkward in her hands. She felt herself growing stronger though, gaining endurance and muscle. Unfortunately, she was at a disadvantage still compared to the careers, but she could have been in worse shape for the games.

Emma and Cato managed to avoid each other, to the point where they barely spoke a few words to each other. Emma was tempted to ask to be trained separately from Cato, but she was afraid that if she did that, she would get less time since Cato was the obvious favorite.

Rue and Emma grew closer, forming a sort of sibling relationship. Though afraid of Cato, Rue enjoyed pissing him off almost as much as Emma did, this time stealing his knife from right under him.

"WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY KNIFE?" accused Cato to the smaller boy in front of him.

"I-I don't know w-w-what you are t-t-talking about. Honest!" cried the boy, throwing his hands up to defend himself.

"I know you took it. Give it back," ordered Cato, advancing on the kid.

Glancing up, Emma noticed Rue holding the knife while she crouched on a beam high above his head. They grinned at each other until Emma failed to see any trainers moving to intercept Cato, forcing her to step in. "Cato, he doesn't have it, calm down. Leave him alone."

Pushing her to the side, Cato snapped, "Em, get out of my way."

The kid managed to back himself into a corner, reminding Emma of her fight with Cato in the elevator. She saw the fear in the kid's eyes and couldn't help but try to save him. "C'mon Cato!" she pled, grabbing his shoulder and turning him away from the boy.

Anticipating the punch that Cato threw her way, she ducked and sent her foot crashing into Cato's chin, knocking him off his feet and onto his back on the ground. He immediately sprang up and rushed her, tackling her to the ground and pinning her on the floor. The sponsors took this time to finally alert the guards to break up the fight.

Once pried off her, Cato threw off his guards and sent Emma a glare, walking out of the training area with Glimmer and Marvel trailing after him. Emma got off the ground and dusted herself off. "I'm sorry Emma!" cried out Rue as she ran for a hug. "It was just supposed to be a prank. No one was suppose to get hurt or in trouble."

Emma stroked Rue's hair. "Don't worry about me. Or him. The guards should have intervened well before I did. I think they should do psychological tests before putting people in here. Cato obviously has some anger issues."She frowned though, knowing that dinner would not be a pleasant event.

* * *

Pantil was yelling at them again, not even letting them eat their dinner first. "I just don't understand. What is with the tributes they are sending me? Why can't they just save the fighting for the Games? They'll have plenty of that then. Am I doing something wrong?" She turned towards her two tributes. "Did I do something wrong? Are you fighting because of me?"

Emma sighed. This was something that Gideon used to do. He used to guilt Emma when they fought, making their fights seem like it was an attack against him as a person rather than his ideas. She was pulled out of her thoughts when Cato asked her, "Why even defend him? Do you even know his name?"

She frowned at Cato, tempted to start another spat with him, but realized that he didn't understand. Grabbing his hands in hers and looking into his eyes, she answered, "Cato. I'm not a monster. I didn't want this. I'm not mentally prepared for this. I get emotionally attached to people. I'm not cut out for this." She felt her eyes watering and she wiped them away quickly. "I don't want to lose who I am as a person. I'm just trying to make the best of my situation."

Letting go of his hands, she turned toward Pantil. "I'm not hungry. I think I'll go to bed now. Good night."

* * *

The knocking at her door caught Emma by surprise and she hurriedly rubbed at her eyes before answering it. To her surprise, it was Cato, holding a plate of food. He awkwardly held the plate out towards her and rubbed the back of his head. "Uh…here. I thought just incase you got hungry later. Sorry it's cold though. Dinner was a while ago."

Emma was touched by the rare, but kind act from Cato. Feeling her bottom lip quiver, she hugged Cato as she cried. Unexpectedly, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close, allowing her to soak his shirt with her tears. Resting his cheek on top of her head, he apologized. "Hey, hang in there. I'm sorry I haven't been helping with being such an ass. Sometimes I forget everyone isn't a career."

Nodding, Emma pulled away. "Thanks." Suddenly finding her composure, Emma stated, "I'm homesick. I'm going to start drinking and reminisce about my childhood. Care to join me?"

Caught off guard by her change in emotions, Cato nodded. "I didn't even know you did that. I never saw you at the parties back at home."

Heading toward the kitchen, Emma confided, "I have actually never tried it. Never had the interest in it. Now seems like a good time to try it out. Might not have a lot of time left, yah know?" She smiled weakly at her joke.

Cato laughed, "Well this is going to be a rough first drinking experience. All they have here is whisky."

Emma's eyes widened. "No wine?"

"None."

"Gah. Fine. Whiskey it is!" Grabbing the bottle and chugging directly from it, Emma swallowed with a gasp. "Oh my gosh that is gross."

Smiling, Cato took a swig for himself. "Yum!"

Emma couldn't help but giggle. "Yum? Really?" She frowned, but took another swig when Cato handed her the bottle. She gagged after the gulp. "Does it get any better?" she pleaded.

"After a few more drinks, this will taste like candy to you."

"Urgh, not soon enough." She drank again and Cato had to laugh at the face she made. "C'mon. Follow me, it's adventure time!"

* * *

Their adventure consisted of sneaking past the other district's floors and ending up on the rooftop of their hotel. "Em, be careful. I don't think this was the best idea," warned Cato, looking out at the city.

"Pish posh!" replied Emma, wildly waving her arms. "There's a force field on the roof. To prrreeeeevent tributes from commiting suuuuiciddeee." Her eyes lit up. "Go on! Touch it! Touchittouchittouchittouchit!"

Cato raised an eyebrow towards her in disbelief. "You are drunk."

"I'm still intelligent," she retorted. "Touch ittttttttttttttttt! Don't be a bitch!" She gave him a light shove.

Slowly reaching out, Cato inched towards the edge. "Oh c'mon!" Emma cried out impatiently. Grabbing Cato's arm, she jerked it to the force field giving Cato a shock. Yanking his hand out of her grip, Cato rubbed it gingerly. "What the hell?"

Emma was on the roof, collapsed in a ball of laughter. His frown turned to a grin and he laughed with her. Lifting her up, he sat her on the window sill and drank from the bottle. "You are going to have a rough morning tomorrow."

Emma leaned her head on Cato's shoulder and said solemnly, "Everyday is a rough day, yah know?" He frowned and took another drink before Emma switched the subject. "How's Clove? Clove? Clove. That was her name right?" She nuzzled into his side.

Drinking again, he replied, "What about her?"

Emma cracked an eye open. "You still" Emma made some crude gestures with her hands. "-with her?"

Cato laughed. "We were never anything serious. She's…a fiery girl. But the reaping was coming up. I didn't want that baggage. Plus, the whole relationship thing isn't really for me. You and Gideon are still together, right?"

Emma's head rose from where it was resting on Cato. "Fuck Gideon. Fuck him right in the ear!" She grabbed the bottle from Cato and took a big swig. "That asshole broke up with me the day I heard the newsssss about me being tribute! Saying shit about how he didn't want to worry me and how he hass Uni-University in a few months." Emma gestured wildly, accidentally dropping the bottle on the roof causing it to shatter into pieces. "Shiiittt."

Grabbing Emma's chin and turning her face from the glass to his, he stated, "You are too good for him." He waited a moment and added, "And hot." He let go of her chin. "Besides, I always thought he was a prick."

Hesitating only a second, Emma took this opportunity to close in the distance between them and capture Cato's lips in a searing kiss.

* * *

So I didn't write the lemon in this chapter. And I wasn't even sure if I wanted to end at this part, but this chapter is 3,000+ words! Also I'm exhausted from taking finals and stuff and so I'm gonna nap and then start drinking. But please let me know what you thought!

I kinda had fun writing drunk Emma. It's based off of how I am when I'm drunk. lol. Hopefully I'll update soon, but I have finals all the way til Wednesday.

Let me know what you liked/didn't. It's always nice to get a review because sometimes I wonder if anyone even reads this. Plus it reminds me to update. ;]

Good luck to everyone with their upcoming finals!


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you for all the reviews! They really mean a lot to me, especially since I feel my story is a bit slow moving and when I see all the other stories with like 100+ reviews. That always blows my mind; imagine having that kind of fanbase!

Heads up, I might have a lot of missing spaces in this chapter, I spilled juice on my keyboard and the keys are really a pain in the ass to press and some aren't registering that well. I've reread this like four times though, so I'm hoping I got everything but it is also late so I'm kinda just skimming. .

I tried to have Cato/Emma moments but I'm also trying not to rush things! Why is that so hard!

**Disclaimer: **Nothing is mineeeeeee. Not even the dresses that Emma wears. (Every outfit in this story has a google image picture of the real Emma wearing it; fun fact.)

* * *

Emma stretched and snuggled into the side of her sleeping partner. The movement caused a searing pain to surge through her head and she moaned loudly. "Urghhhh, my head…"

Her partner wrapped his arm around her tighter and kissed the top of her head. "Shussshhh, baby."

Cracking an eye open, Emma realized she was staring at a chest much too well defined to be Gideon's. And that her and Gideon broke up. Shooting up, she clutched her head, pain intensifying from the rapid motion. "Oh my God. Cato."

He lazily opened his eyes, giving a good stretch before answering. "Emma."

Wrapping the sheets around her tighter, she glanced at Cato, who was lying on the bed in all his glory. "Jesus, Cato. Can you put on some pants please? I can't believe this is happening. That this happened." She gestured between them at their naked bodies.

Cato rolled his eyes at her and pulled on his boxer-briefs. "Better?"

Emma nodded, but a wave of nausea washed over her. Clutching the sheets around her body, she sprinted for Cato's bathroom and locked the door before hunching over the toilet and emptying her insides.

Cato waited until the sounds of her heaving had stopped before knocking on the door. "Hey Em? I need to shower and get ready for training. Care to get out? Perhaps puke in your own toilet?"

"No," answered Emma weakly, before another wave of sickness hit her.

Cato sighed. It was at that moment that Pantil knocked on his door. "Cato, time to get up!"

"I'm already up, Pantil!" He hollered at the door.

She walked in, saying, "Oh goody. Emma wasn't in her room either. It seems like you guys are off to an early start." Noticing that Cato was half dressed, she had the decency to blush, but didn't look away. "I see…you still need to get ready. And stuff. So I won't bother you as you go. Shower." She fanned herself, flustered.

Cato threw her a small smile before it faltered when Emma exited his bathroom. "Cato, my head is on fire. Constant pounding." She gave a tiny gasp when she walked out to see Pantil there. "Oh. Hi Pantil. This isn't what it looks like."

Pantil's initial look was that of shock, but it transitioned to one of anger. "I don't even know what to do with you two! You hate each other. You like each other. You REALLY like each other. This is too much. I give up!" Turning on her heel, she stormed out of the room.

Emma slumped onto Cato's bed. "We really do put her through a lot, don't we?" She gave him a smirk before breaking into a fit of giggles. "I think I've gone mad." Cato raised an eyebrow at her. "I still can't believe we had sex."

Cato leaned casually against the door. "Do you remember any of it?"

Shaking her head, Emma denied it. "Nope. Nothing. You?"

"Naw. We were pretty drunk," mentioned Cato.

"Good! Now we can pretend it never happened. I mean, hopefully Pantil doesn't take this to extremes. This can't be the first time in 74 years that two tributes got drunk and had sexual relations…" Emma trailed off. They sat in an awkward silence before Emma offered, "I'm gonna go to my room now…"

Cato just nodded at her and walked into his bathroom and shut the door. She heard the water turn on as she redressed in her clothes from last night before leaving his room and escaping to her own._ Oh Emma, what a mess. Is there any way you turn this into a strategy? Think!_ Unfortunately, her massive hangover led to her only having one thought. _I'm not going to make it past day 1._

* * *

Emma felt a little better after her shower, but pancakes were the special for breakfast and Emma found that she couldn't stomach them. _Oatmeal it is again_. Emma sighed. She hated oatmeal.

Cato was already through most of his stack of pancakes, stomach unaffected. Pantil and Felix were in the corner, discussing something not meant for their tributes' ears. "Why is everything so loud? And bright?" moaned Emma, flinching at the sound of Cato's fork dragging across his plate.

"You know what you need?" suggested Cato, pointing his fork at her.

"To not be hungover?" offered Emma, snagging a piece of pancake off Cato's plate and popping it in her mouth. She grimaced. _Yup, pancakes are not a good idea this morning._

Cato shook his head. "Not quite. You should keep drinking. The whole reason you are feeling miserable is because your body is going through a withdrawal of alcohol. Think of it like being an addict."

"You mean if I keep drinking I'd just put off my hangover, right? I think I'll stick to water like the books say." She changed her train of thought, "Hey! Don't try to get me drunk again. It's your fault we are in this situation. I should have never let you let me drink."

Giving a short bark of laughter, Cato retorted, "'Let me let you drink?' You were the one that suggested it in the first place."

"Well you were the one that said the more I drank the better it would taste! You were trying to get me drunk so you could take advantage of me. So you can make me another notch in your bed post!"

Cato's eyes narrowed. "You kissed me first, last night. Whatever happened last night you made happen because you wanted it."

Emma gulped. She sort of remembered kissing Cato on the roof. And in the elevator. And following him back into his room….

Cato leaned back in his chair once he saw the blush creep in on Emma's cheeks as she remembered last night. Sending a smirk her way, he stated, "You aren't the little prude I thought you were."

"Oh grow up," snapped Emma.

Pantil and Felix joined the two tributes at the table. Pantil was busy pouting at the pair, obviously trying to punish them by ignoring them. Felix just rolled his eyes at her and turned to Cato and Emma. "So you two have some personal issues with each other. Whatever, not my area of expertise. I'm just here to help you with training. Today is the last day of training and it's the day that the sponsors are going to pay the most attention before you go for your one-on-one evaluation. They'll take in how you interact with your environment and the other tributes as well as with the weapons you'll be using. Today is almost as important as tomorrow, so be on your best behavior and do your best."

Wanting to have the last word before Emma and Cato left, Pantil added, "And try not to embarrass us today, ok?"

* * *

On normal days, Emma struggled not to be one of the weaker tributes in the group, but her hangover was definitely not an advantage. So far, she managed to not throw up breakfast, but she was weak and she was tired.

While standing in line for the last obstacle course, Cato came up behind her. "So how are we feeling?" he teased.

Body sagging, Emma answered truthfully. "Miserable. Crabby. Nervous. And scared. Just a horrible mix in general. How about you? You scared?"

Cato laughed. "Scared? Never. Excited. Totally."

Emma turned to face him and frowned. She patted the side of his face with a little more force than she needed to, but then cupped his cheek. "Oh Cato. So pretty but so naïve."

He playfully tried to bite her hand. "Hey, don't hate on sponsors who only sponsor tributes based on their looks. I'm sure that's the only way you'll get any."

Emma gave him a wary look and a small smile. "Was that just a backhanded compliment?"

Before Cato could answer, Glimmer and Marvel came up to them. "Are you sure that it is smart for you two to be standing in line next to each other?" sneered Glimmer.

Emma hated how fast news travelled around here. And how she always seemed to forget that the elevators had cameras. "I think it would be smarter if you didn't stand in line next to me." Emma flashed her a sneer in return.

"Glimmer, back off," ordered Cato. "We are supposed to save it for the games."

Glimmer gave him a confused look before obeying. "It seems we won't be burdened by her presence much longer, seeing as she is next."

Since the taller boy in front of her was currently waiting for his signal to enter the course, Emma finally had a chance to see the layout. It was a series of trees and tree stumps with some vines and some nets to climb over a body of deep water. For the most part, if you fell, you got soaked. A few of the other tributes that went ahead of her had fallen and managed to keep parts of their bodies from getting wet, though more tributes were not so lucky. It was a tough course. Even Glimmer and Marvel were not completely dry. Only Rue was able to get through the whole course without even nearing the water.

Emma approached the first stump nervously and waited for the whistle to signal her turn to start. The tributes all had a 30 second space between each other. She began by leaping from stump to stump, which was an easy enough task. From there she had to scale a tree and do a sort of monkey bars movement through the limbs. She made the mistake of looking down and though it was only a 15ft drop into water, Emma froze. Trying to swing and reach the next branch, she found that she couldn't swing far enough and was stuck unless she could jump. Unfortunately, her and Cato were the last two tributes in line and it seemed like the other tributes swinging on the limbs of the branches had taken their toll on them. They creaked in resistance to every swing Emma attempted.

"You gonna move?" asked Cato, annoyance heavy in his voice. "You know, you are supposed to move forward. You don't get any points for staying in one place."

_It's been 30 seconds already? _Closing her eyes, Emma answered, "I can't. I'm stuck."Cato sighed and swung onto her branch. "Cato don't!" warned Emma, too late.

The weight of both of the tributes was too much for the branch, which broke with a loud SNAP! Emma and Cato fell into the water, with Emma screaming all the way down until she was submerged with the water. Both breaking for air, Cato started to swim to the end of the course. "What the hell Emma?"

Clawing desperately for Cato, Emma grabbed his arm and crawled onto his back, clinging to him as if he were her only lifeline. She was freezing, soaked completely. "Emma, get off!" fought Cato, twisting to try to stay afloat and to get rid of Emma.

Coughing out water, Emma told him, "Cato, I can't swim. Please don't leave me." She was crying now, arms wrapped snuggly around Cato's neck.

Lugging Emma with him as he swam for shore, Cato fought against the water's current, finally making it to the other side. Emma dropped from his back to the shore, body weak from facing her fear. Cato glared at her miserable form before stomping away from her and towards Glimmer and Marvel, who were busy laughing.

Rue ran up to Emma. "Emma! Emma, are you going to be okay?"

Emma stood up and rested her hands on her knees, head in between her legs. Looking sadly at Rue, she asked, "So how pathetic did that make me look?"

Rue made a face that showed she was trying to sugarcoat what she was going to say next. "Well plenty of people fell today…"

"I meant about me screaming. And not knowing how to swim. And crying. And how if Cato had been in front of me and if I had been last, I'd probably be dead."

Rue decided not to answer and instead hugged her. "I'm glad Cato was there, for once."

Emma gave her a weak smile before grabbing her hand and heading other to the rest of the tributes.

"That obstacle course was your last chance to make a…" The trainer looked at Emma, who was drenched and shivering. "…positive impression. Go eat dinner and get a goodnight's rest because you'll be back here in the morning for your one-on-one evaluation with the sponsors and the game maker. They'll be giving you a number, 1 through 12, the higher the number, the more lethal they, and eventually the other tributes, think you are. Higher numbers get better sponsors, so remember to do your best! Dismissed!"

Emma dragged herself to the elevator her and Cato needed to take, parting from Rue with a hug and a "Good luck tomorrow!"

He gave her a stony look when she entered the elevator. "I'm sorry, Cato. I didn't mean to make me, and you indirectly, look stupid. Thanks though, I owe you my life." She looked over at him and gasped, "What are you doing!"

Cato shrugged at her as he took off his shirt and wrung it out. "If you leave wet clothes on, you have a higher chance of getting sick, especially with the air conditioning going this high, which is something one can't afford in the Hunger Games." He smirked at her. "Why? Are you uncomfortable? It's nothing you haven't seen before."

Emma laughed uncomfortably. "Between this and that hangover analysis, it would seem like you are the one that is trying to go into medicine," joked Emma, trying to put distance between her and Cato as he strolled casually toward her. "C-Cato?" Cato was so close that Emma put her hands on his bare chest, intending to push him away. "What are you doing?" she breathed.

He answered her by dipping his head down and kissing her, cupping her cheek with one hand and holding her body against him with the other. Emma's hands slid from his chest to wrap around his neck, allowing him to deepen the kiss.

The ding of the elevator signaled that they had reached their floor and as suddenly as it happened, Cato pulled away, gave Emma a wink and walked off into his room, leaving Emma alone in the elevator.

* * *

Emma wanted to confront Cato at dinner, but Pantil was hovering around them, forgetting about the grudge she was holding against them. Accepting that she was not going to be able to talk to Cato now, she decided to talk to Felix and have him help her find an angle for the one-on-one evaluation.

"Felixxxx, pleaseeee, help me," begged Emma.

"Emma, calm down. I'm sure you have a talent, but just don't know," offered Felix. "You kicked Cato's ass, twice. Your hand to hand is pretty good."

Frowning, Emma clarified. "Cato won both of those fights. He could have just strangled me in the elevator if he wanted to, and the second fight he was pulled off me by the peacekeepers."

"You still did better than most would have, especially without a weapon. Are you any good with those?" he asked.

"Oh no. I'm terrible with weapons. If I'm not dropping them, I'm completely missing with them. The trainers say I'm hopeless cause I can't even adopt the stance. I'm sure they've just lost hope in training me because Glimmer has already made it clear that she's going for me first, so that means Marvel will, too. And I'm always getting compared to Cato, since we are from the same district and he's…a Career," admitted Emma.

Felix chucked her on the chin lightly. "Being a Career doesn't mean everything. Plenty of non-Careers have won."

"6."

"What?"

"6 non-Careers have won, since the first Hunger Games to this one. That's 8% success rating. I have a less than 10% of surviving," stated Emma, glumly.

Felix smiled at her. "You can analyze things quickly, can't you?"

Emma shrugged. "I also have a photographic memory. This helps me how? They aren't going to ask questions, they are going to want me to show them things."

"Why don't you use your hand to hand for the evaluation, just do your best, and then show off your logic at the interview?" suggested Felix.

Emma smiled. "There are more parts to this! That makes sense! I just hope that my hand to hand is enough."

Felix gave her hand a squeeze. "Give 'em hell, kid. Remind them that you were the one that gave Cato the black eye."

* * *

Deciding that her issues with Cato could wait until after her evaluation, Emma went to bed early. When she woke up, she scarfed down breakfast andheaded to the training room to meet Rue, not even waiting for Cato or the rest of her crew to come down to eat.

Emma found Rue bouncing from one foot to the other, a determined look on her face. Approaching her, Emma asked, "What are you doing?"

Rue smiled, "I'm warming up."

Emma sat on the floor and pretended to stretch next to her. "Already know what you are going to do? You don't have to tell me what."

Nodding, Rue answered, "Yep. Hopefully they'll have the area set up for me. My mentors said that they would, since they tipped them off."

"Well I'm glad you know what you are doing. I still have no clue," sighed Emma.

Rue stopped bouncing to put a hand on Emma's shoulder. "You are an ace fighter! You've held your own against Cato multiple times!"

Emma laughed, "Everyone says that! But Cato won both of those fights."

Rue smiled, "You've got more going for you than you think, Emma."

Pulling Rue into a hug, Emma confessed, "Sometimes I forget that you are 6 years younger than me. You are like a little adult."

Rue stuck her tongue out at Emma, before Emma turned to head over to the District 2 area. "You'll do fine! Good luck!"

The District 2 bench was occupied by Cato … and Glimmer. Emma debated fighting with Glimmer for her spot, and instead headed to the District 1 bench to sit by Marvel. "Hey Marvel!"

Marvel gave her a cold stare.

Emma tried again, "Do you know what you are going to do in there?"

His face broke out in cruel smile. "In the evaluations? I'll probably just picture your pretty face on all the practice dummies as I send a spear straight through their heads. In the Games? I think I want to be the one to kill your little friend. I always like seeing the young ones' lives fade from their eyes."

"You…are sick. No wonder you don't talk much. If you so much as hurt a hair on Rue's head, I'll kill you myself," threatened Emma.

Sneering, Marvel replied, "I seriously doubt that. I'll just have to go to water and I'm safe." He laughed coldly. "You'll last til Day 2, tops. I know Glimmer already called dibs on you, but do know I would take great joy in killing you myself. I'll even make it fast, Glimmer likes to take the more painful 'bleed slowly to death' route."

Emma couldn't resist the shiver his words brought her, but hardened her voice."Too bad for Glimmer, because I'm going to kill her first. And then I'll go for you."

Marvel winked at her. "Sure thing, toots." Speaking over her shoulder, Marvel greeted Glimmer. "Glimmer, ready?"

Glimmer shot Emma a smug look. "Born ready."

Emma was more than happy to take her seat next to Cato on the District 2 bench. "There was a time when I wanted to get into the Career pack so badly I would put aside the fact that I hated Glimmer. But now, after talking to Marvel, I've decided that District One is fucked up."

Cato shrugged. "We've been training for this since birth. We are all a little fucked up. You can't grow up with this lifestyle without a few scars, both physically and emotionally."

"You…" Emma couldn't find the words. "Are so confusing. When did you learn to be deep?" He gave her a genuine smile. "Why don't you do that more?"

"Be deep?"

"Smile," stated Emma, flashing him one of her own. "You are always smirking, and yes, it works for you, but it's a front. I like this smile, your real smile."

Cato sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Emma, don't pretend like you know me. We aren't friends. Because of the Games, we will never be. You said it yourself, you get emotional attached. Don't get attached to me. In the Games, when the time comes to kill you, if I'm the one that needs to do it, I won't hesitate."

* * *

"So how did it go?" asked Pantil eagerly.

Emma shrugged. "I don't know. They asked me some questions and then wanted me to do my hand to hand combat against a dummy. I felt stupid, punching and dodging this thing that didn't fight back and didn't give me an opportunity to switch up my moves. I kinda told them to rewatch the fights between me and Cato and use that to help with the point total, but I'm not sure if they will, or if that would even help."

Pantil's smile faltered. "Well, you tried." Turning to Cato, she asked him, "What about you? Our pride and joy!"

Cato smirked, "It was easy. They had a sword and I just decapitated a few dummies and then I took my leave."

"Oooooo, sounds like you did well!" offered Pantil as she led Cato to the couch.

Emma and Felix followed suit, with Felix throwing his arm around Emma's shoulders and offering a "Don't worry about it, kid."

Turning on the TV, Pantil raised the volume. "Here it is! Here it is!" Caesar Flickerman's face appeared on the screen. "Oh isn't he just dreamy…"

Emma would laugh, if she wasn't so nervous about her score. "Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment you've been waiting all day for! It's the scores for this year's Hunger Games tributes!" cried out Caesar. "First up, District One's male, Marvel, receiving a 9. He is rather deadly with a spear. The female tribute, the lovely Glimmer, earned a 9 as well. Watch out for these two."

Emma's hands were getting clammy. "We are next!" squealed Pantil.

"Next up is District Two. The male, Cato, has earned an impressive 10!" The room erupted into shouts of praise. "The female, Emmalyn, has earned a…5." Caesar frowned. "Now I don't feel like that is right…" He looked at someone behind the camera and waved them away. "Yes yes, I know I'm not supposed to give my input." He cleared his throat. "Excuse me. As for District 3…"

Emma's stomach dropped as she let it all sink in. Noticing everyone's eyes on her, she put on a fake smile and poured a round of shots. "Congrats Cato." Throwing back the shot and trying to get past its taste, Emma excused herself from the group. "I think I'll be going to bed now. Big day tomorrow."

She fought the tears until she made it to the rooftop, and then she let them fall.

* * *

She heard the footsteps before she turned around to face the person associated with them. "Cato, I don't want to talk. Oh!"

"You think you two are the only ones that know about this place?" Felix sat down next to Emma.

Emma gave him a sad smile. "I've never seen anyone else up here. I just kinda got used to the idea that only me and Cato knew about it."

"How are you holding up?"

"Badly. But I think I'm out of tears, so that's a plus."

Felix laughed. "Pantil told me to tell you to be careful cause crying causes swollen eyes for tomorrow. She would have came up here and told you herself, but you know those heels she wears. She wouldn't last on the roof."

That made Emma smile. "Thanks for coming up here, Felix. It means a lot to me. Sorry I disappointed you with a 5."

He shook his head in disgust. "I can't believe they scored you that low. You aren't deserving of that. You heard Caesar, even he thought that score was crap."

Emma shrugged. "Thus is life. I guess I'll just have to win without sponsor support, huh?"

Felix nudged her with his elbow. "That's the spirit! I always knew you were a fighter."

"To be honest, I feel like the fight is dying from me. I was so naïve going into the Games. I mean, I knew about the Careers, but I didn't know how good they were. And that whole water environment thing, I could have died because I don't know how to swim. Imagine if the world they give us for the Games is a water world. I wouldn't last long. Ha." Emma sighed. "And there are so many mind games. It's overwhelming."

"Did you want to talk about you and Cato?"

Emma gave a hearty laugh. "Did you, Felix, just ask to have girl talk?"

"I thought it was only girl talk if we were both girls? I was actually asking for bro talk."

"Well, I'd talk about Cato but I don't know what's going on. Honestly. We grew up together, if something was supposed to happen, it would have happened then, right? I don't know if now we are just trying to enjoy our last couple of days or if it's more mind tricks or what. I don't even know how I feel about him!"

"I can guess you are attracted to him."

Emma snorted. "Of course. He's tall, strong and handsome, and now the number one tribute, what's not to be attracted to? But I don't even know what his personality really is. I feel like sometimes I see glimpses, but I can never tell which is real and what's just an act."

Felix got to his feet and offered Emma a hand up. "I'll make it easy for you. Forget about him. Cato may have moments where he makes you feel good, but he's a Career to the very core. I was one too. I know what they teach you in the academy, and the fact that you are confused about him is a tactic we are taught. He'll get you emotionally invested, and then once you are out there, he'll take advantage of that." Pulling Emma to her feet, he dusted himself off. "It's late, now is a good time to go to bed. Good night Emma, and good luck. You use your wit tomorrow. Have confidence."

* * *

Emma woke up to Pantil barging into her room. "Darling, let me look at you." Grabbing Emma's face, Pantil inspected it. "Good. Your eyes aren't very swollen; that'll go down before the interview." Dragging Emma out the door, Pantil shouted, "No need to shower! Your stylist team will clean you right up!"

Dropping Emma into the room where her stylists were waiting, Pantil gave Emma a hug and kissed her cheek. "Good luck dear. Caesar's going to ask you some questions about Cato. Think of your answers now and pray Cato answers the same way. You'll go first though, so you'll set the mood. You have a certain charm about you. You'll do great!"

Pantil squeezed her hand before leaving her in the care of the stylists. "Dawn! She's all yours!"

Emma smiled as she saw Dawn again. She was dressed in floral shorts and a coral blouse with gladiator sandals. "Hello my love, how are you holding up?"

"Shitty. You saw my score, didn't you?"

Dawn grinned at her. "The dress I have in mind for you will have everyone blown away at your beauty. They won't even remember your number."

* * *

A couple hours later, Emma was in a white mini dress, with black beaded neckline. Her hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail, with only her fringe left loose. Dawn had given her smoky eyes with a bit of a cat eye flip at the end. "So what's your favorite part," asked Dawn, watching Emma as she twirled in the mirror.

"I think it's by far the cut out in the back. It's big but isn't slutty. It's a sexy cut out," answered Emma, unsure how to describe her favorite feature.

"I think that I have something that will change your mind," said Dawn as she brought out Emma's black caged stilettos. "Remember these babies?"

Emma cooed over the shoes and happily put them on her feet. "I thought I had lost them from the last time I wore them! Thank you!" She pulled Dawn into a hug.

"You look good, Emma. I was trying to do an innocent with a touch of bad with your look and I think you are pulling it off well."

Emma gave her hair a flip and sent Dawn a wink. "Why thank you."

Dawn laughed. "You are so cute! You'll win over that crowd."

"Do you really think so? My score was awful. I need to make sure that I can woo the crowd now or I'll never get sponsors," feared Emma.

"Sure. Just have fun answers. You know they are going to ask about Cato. Whatcha going to say?"

"That I'm madly in love with him and I hope to have his baby one day!" Emma laughed. "Think if I answered that way I'll get more sponsors?"

"Is that true?" asked Dawn.

"Oh heavens no! Cato is a gorgeous man, but to even risk another one of him running around is a horrifying thought."

"But are you madly in love with him? Is that part true?"

"Dawn, don't be ridiculous. I'm a woman of logic. Falling for Cato is completely irresponsible. Especially with the Games and all."

Dawn shrugged at her. "The heart wants, what it wants."

"Well this heart wants to keep beating. So I'll seal it away and send all the blood to my brain so it can think of a way for me to survive this nightmare."

* * *

Emma took her spot in line between Marvel and Cato. Both men were dressed nicely, Marvel in a navy blazer, and Cato in a silver and black suit. "Well you two clean up nicely," observed Emma.

The pair wore matching expressions of shock on their faces. "Wow. Em- You look…" Cato trailed off. "…Amazing." Marvel nodded in agreement.

Emma blushed, not expecting that reaction. "Thank you."

"Going for the innocent look, are we?" observed Glimmer. She was dressed in a gold see-through dress, oozing the essence of sexy. "Going to try to get some pity sponsors?"

"Not leaving much to the imagination, are you, Glimmer?" responded Emma.

"I want to win," answered Glimmer simply, sending a wink to the boys and blowing Emma a kiss before climbing onto the stage for her interview.

Glimmer's interview seemed to go well, with Caesar playing up everyone's answers to the best of his ability. Glimmer left with a roar of applause and then it was Marvel's turn. Marvel went for a much more likable persona than the one Emma saw, during this interview and got a respectable amount of clapping afterwards.

Then it was Emma's turn. Waving to Cato, she wished him meekly, "Good luck!"

Grabbing her hand, he caught her before she went on stage. "Don't forget to smile. It's your best feature." He winked and let go. "Good luck."

Stunned, Emma slowly climbed the stairs. "Emma! You are looking lovely today! How are you?"

Beaming the audience her smile, she answered, "Thanks Caesar. And I'm very nervous so thank you for starting off with an easy question."

The crowd burst into laughter, as did Caesar. "Well aren't you a cute one? No need to be nervous!"

"That's easy for you to say! You already know what the questions are!"

"Oh Emma, I'll take it easy on you." He gave her a reassuring smile. "So tell me about how you got picked for the Games!"

"Another easy question! I was picked from a bowl on the day of the Reaping," said Emma, lightly. "Like many of the other tributes here."

"But I heard there was a volunteer to take your place. What happened with that?"

Emma gave a sad smile. "She…is having a baby. From death, comes life." She shrugged. "Honestly, I'm really happy for her…" Emma paused. "Actually I'm jealous. I've always wanted children. She's very lucky."

Caesar noticed that this tangent could go to a dark place and decided to flip it around. "But you need someone to help you make that baby. Is there anyone special at home?"

Emma shook her head. "Not anymore. He broke up with me the day that I found I would be in the Games, after the Reaping."

"How dare he!"

"My thoughts exactly, Caesar! Though there is someone special at home that I miss very much. Hi Dad! I love you! Stay strong, I'll be home soon!" she felt her voice crack and she tried to blink away her tears.

"Are you close to your father?"

"Very close. My mother died giving birth to me and we are all each other have left. He was the one that encouraged me to go to University and once these Games are over, I will, with a full ride to Oxvard."

"Full ride to Oxvard? You have both beauty and brains! It sounds like you are determined to win!"

"Oh I am, Caesar. I'm going to go to University and be a doctor for my District."

"A noble dream to have. Next question, I know we are all thinking it, what is with your score of 5? It's the lowest of all the tributes this year. I think you were robbed, personally," asked Caesar.

Emma waved off his question. "Thank you, but the score is just a number. I'm not allowed to discuss what happened in the training room, but I'm pretty sure the videos of my fights with Cato, who is the highest scoring tribute this year, has been seen by everyone by now and I hope they can see how I held my own against him. As my full ride to Oxvard also shows, I'm also very intelligent. I'm not worried about the score."

"You seem very confident, Emma."

She laughed. "It's all an act. I've become very religious these past days, praying I do well."

"And how's that turning out for you?"

"Rather poorly, I would say. Did you not see I got a 5?"

Everyone had a laugh. "So since you mentioned him, I have to ask. You and Cato. Do tell."

Emma made a face and feigned ignorance, "Me and Cato? What about us? There's an us?"

"Emma, Emma, no need to play coy. We've all seen the elevator videos. And may I say, you two are a very attractive couple. Very steamy. You guys could be the power couple out there in the games."

"Sorry to disappoint Caesar, but me and Cato are just from the same District. Sure, I tried him out, if you know what I mean, but c'mon. Look at him. If you were in my shoes and perhaps had a finite amount of days left, wouldn't you want to live a little?"

The TV screen behind Emma showed Cato on camera backstage. He shot the crowd a smirk and sent a wink their way. Caesar had his head on his hands. "I guess he is rather dreamy…But that is all the time we have! Thank you Emma, and good luck!" Kissing her hand, he presented her to the audience, rewarding Emma with the loudest applause of the night.

* * *

So this story is pretty much writing itself. I didn't plan for Emma to not know how to swim and I didn't plan for like half of these scenes. It's always exciting because then I'm surprised too! Hopefully it adds to the story and doesn't take away…

Next up is the actual games and I'm so excited for this one scene I'm tempted to keep writing. But I'm tired. Story of my life.

Read, Review, Complain, Flame, Suggest, Alert. I love receiving love.

PS 6200+ words? Whoa.


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for all the reviews! I love them! Keep 'em coming! :]

So I kinda hate that I made Marvel psychotic and not really likable because I just watched Jack Quaid's (the actor that plays Marvel) short film on youtube, "Sitting Babies," and it was hilarious! I fell in love with him! Now I want to write Marvel a fan fic. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Gotta finish this one first. I'm trying to teach myself discipline. Ha. It's hard. :[

Here's the exciting part though! On to the actual Hunger Games! I have an idea of how I want the story to go from here (it's almost done; maybe like two or three chapters left), but I am going to borrow some things from the book since being 100% original is hard. Remember, I don't have Katniss and Peeta in my story, so as of now, I'm not even sure if I'm doing the partner rule deal. Bah. I'll just start writing now and we can both be surprised!

Also, not sure how long the games actually last, but mine is roughly the span of a monthish.

**Disclaimer:** Do I have to make one of these every chapter? Cause I still own nothing.

* * *

When the first rays of light streamed in through her window, Emma was already up and dressed. Sleep would not come to her last night, and though she knew that she would need it, her nerves wouldn't let her rest. The games hadn't even started yet and Emma already had adrenaline pumping through her system.

She went to the kitchen, where Felix and Pantil were already waiting. They both acknowledged her with a smile and allowed her to pile food onto her plate before they bombarded her with advice. "First thing you need to do when the 60 seconds are up is to run for the woods. I know the supplies at the Cornucopia will be tempting, but that's where the Careers will set up. There's always a Bloodbath in the beginning; don't find yourself caught in it," warned Felix.

"Don't forget to look fierce during the countdown!" chimed in Pantil. "That's when the cameras zoom in on the tributes and allow the sponsors a closer look. When a tribute has a terrified look on their face, sponsors tend not to give that tribute their money."

Emma almost shrugged off Pantil's comment as another one of her superficial statements, but Felix confirmed it. "She's right. You need sponsors. You never know when their gift is the one that keeps you alive. They can donate anything from matches to food to medicine."

Cato had just entered the room and finished loading up his plate before he sat at the table. "Okay, now that I'm here you don't have to waste your time giving advice I already know. Hit me with some new stuff."

Felix frowned. "I'm giving Emma advice, too, Cato. Besides, the academy already taught you everything I have to say."

"Bullshit!" cried out Cato. "Emma is cute and likable, sure, but those skills won't transition into the games. Why are you wasting your time with her when she's probably going to be one of the first half dead?"

"Hey! I'm right here!" defended Emma. "And I've told you a million times Cato, don't underestimate me." Turning back to Felix, she asked, "And after that?"

"Find water. Without water you won't last long. Remember, don't light fires at night and don't burn green wood."

Cato finished his food and pushed his plate away. "This is complete crap. Why are we even wasting our time? I'm going to be the winner. Focus on helping ME win."

Pantil exchanged a look with Felix and led Cato out of the room. "Let's go find your stylist so you can get ready. Felix will swing by in a couple minutes to prep you."

Once they had left, Felix was able to give Emma his full attention. "Beware the Career pack. They are going to form an alliance that will last until all the weaker tributes are killed and then they will turn on each other. I remember you saying that another Career already has her heart set on killing you, and judging from Cato's reaction this morning, it doesn't seem like he enjoys sharing the spotlight. If you run across him, he won't be friendly. He's been trained to be a ruthless killing machine."

"I've seen him angry and I've seen him fighting. It's not a good side of him, for either situation."

Frowning, Felix stated, "The academy creates this dark side in you. They feed it with anger and hate and then they make you need that dark side, so that when you fight, it's not _you_ fighting, but it's the darkness."

Emma nodded. "When Cato and I fought in the elevator, his eyes…they were terrifying. He was like an animal."

"Trust me, when a Career is in the zone, it's hard to tell the difference. It's like they don't feel pain; they only feel the hunger to kill." He rested his hand on Emma's shoulder. "It's time for me to leave you with Dawn and Pantil. Just know that I will always be watching and rooting for you. I will do everything in my power to get you sponsors and help you last, but you need to survive out there. Don't do anything stupid, trust no one. Don't get attached. Eventually, everyone is going to die. It's kill or be killed. No mercy." He grabbed her chin. "Emma. No mercy."

* * *

Dawn greeted Emma with a sad smile. "Today's the day, huh?"

Emma was regretting her large breakfast. Her nerves were making her stomach uneasy. She only nodded to Dawn.

"I have you in black cargo pants – easy to camouflage, multiple pockets; combat boots –water resistant, heavy duty; a white loosely fitted t-shirt and an olive green windbreaker jacket. Is that your trinket?" Dawn inspected Emma's mother's ring on her necklace. "Looks good. Glimmer, the District One tribute had her trinket confiscated. Her ring had a poisonous spike in it, but since we couldn't tell if she knew about it or not, we couldn't punish her."

Emma scoffed. "She would."

Zipping up Emma's jacket, she pulled her into a hug. "You go girl. I'm rooting for you." She tugged on Emma's hair. "Here, let me help." Tying it into a fishtail side braid, she stepped away from Emma and let Pantil take her. "Good luck."

Giving a small wave, Emma watched Dawn dab at her eyes. She felt like she was saying goodbye forever. The nausea in her stomach was getting worse. "Chew this," offered Pantil, giving Emma a piece of gum.

Sticking it in her mouth, Emma almost spit it back out. "Ew! What flavor is that?"

Pantil gave a small chuckle. "It's ginger. Settles the stomach. I remember how you don't deal with nerves well."

Emma gave Pantil a hug. "Thank you. For everything. Sorry I was a bit difficult at times."

Pantil shook her head. "It's understandable. Make it up to me by winning. And remembering to look fierce on the platform. It's how you gain sponsors, you know!"

Emma stepped onto her platform as Pantil kissed her forehead. "Good luck, love." Pantil gave her a smile that didn't quite reach her sad eyes. "May the odds be ever in your favor."

* * *

Once her platform broke the surface, Emma was greeted with a glare from the sun hitting the Cornucopia. Squinting, she saw the mountain of supplies sitting at the mouth of the horn. A few smaller items, mainly backpacks and sleeping bags, were scattered a bit further from the Cornucopia. Taking a deep breath, Emma looked at the timer. 45 seconds and counting.

Allowing herself to glance at the other tributes, she saw that she wasn't standing next to Cato, like she expected, but instead was next to a red-headed girl who was probably a year or so younger than her and Thresh, the male from Rue's district. Even though Thresh's platform was a few feet from Emma's he still managed to look humungous and threatening. Emma made a mental decision to run in the red head's direction.

15 seconds left on the countdown. She found Rue almost directly across from her on the field. They locked eyes and Rue gave her a ghost of a smile before narrowing her eyes in focus. Behind Rue was a bright lake and field of grass meaning that she would have to run towards Emma to get to the shelter of the woods. Emma debated waiting for Rue so that they could form their own alliance, but the buzzer signaling the start of the games threw her off. _Shit! I forgot to look fierce!_ Sprinting off her platform, Emma headed directly towards the forest. It was a straight path, and Emma was much closer to the trees than some of the other tributes, but she veered sharply to the left, spontaneously deciding to pick up a black backpack a little out of her way. As she turned, an object flew through the spot she just recently vacated. Glancing over her shoulder, she spotted Glimmer, aiming another knife in her direction.

Reaching the backpack, she threw it over her shoulders and heard the sound of the knife piercing through the cloth of the pack. Rushing into the safety of the trees, Emma turned to see Glimmer pursuit her and then pause before returning to the other Careers and their Bloodbath. Breathing a sigh of relief, Emma hiked the pack up higher on her back and started running deeper into the forest, desperate to distance herself from the others.

Running blindly into the brush, she was knocked off her feet when she collided with another tribute. The impact knocked her sideways sending her and the other tribute tumbling down a shallow hill. She quickly got to her feet, but the other tribute was faster. Picking up the knife that was knocked loose off her backpack in the fall, he fell into a stance and started circling Emma.

"Please, you can keep the knife, but we need to go," pleaded Emma, trying to put distance between her and the other tribute.

"You are the girl that got a 5…"

Emma put up her hands in defense. "Please, let's not fight, we need to run right now."

The tribute swiped at her, inexperiencedly. Evading his attack, she hit his wrist and managed to make him drop the knife. "Stop it! I'm not a threat now!"

Her words fell on deaf ears and the boy decided to tackle her instead. Emma fell hard on her back, and struggled to get up because of the restraint of the pack. The boy's hands closed around Emma's neck, but he lacked the strength that Cato had, so Emma was able to throw him off. Kicking him in the groin, the boy bent over in pain. Grabbing his head, she sent her knee smashing into nose, being rewarded with a loud CRUNCH! signaling the breaking of his nose.

She released him, and the boy lied on the ground, blood flowing freely from his nose and cries coming from his mouth. Emma scrambled to grab the knife and she held it over her head, intending to strike the other tribute in the chest, ending his life. For a few seconds, they were frozen there, Emma with the knife posed above her, and the boy, bracing himself for the blow.

Shaking her head as a few tears escaped, Emma lowered the knife. "I can't do it."

The boy used her hesitation to lunge for the knife, knocking Emma to her side and sending the knife a few feet away. The two shared a look before they both went for the knife. Emma closed her hand around the handle and flipped onto her back, sending the knife through the heart of the boy.

His body collapsed on top of her and her white top was stained red with his blood. Pushing him off her, she looked down at him, horrified at what she had to do. Dropping the knife, Emma buried her head in her hands and started sobbing.

* * *

The cannons firing minutes later pulled her out of daze and she rushed to her feet. Grabbing the knife and her pack, she again started jogging deeper into the forest, counting the cannons. There were twelve that day, one of which was her kill.

A whistle drew her attention upward. Shading her eyes with her hand, she squinted her eyes. "…Rue!"

She was greeted with the smiling face of her District 11 friend. Rue beckoned Emma to follow in her direction, though Emma remained on the ground while Rue stuck to the tree tops. The two of them continued this way, whistling to each other to stay headed in the same direction even though they had lost sight of each other a while ago.

Once the sun set and dusk was falling on the environment, Rue dropped to the ground. "Let's take stock of our items?"

Rue had managed to grab a small fanny pack that contained a slingshot, a water pouch and a small box of raisins. Opening her backpack, Emma was rewarded with a thin sleeping bag, a canteen, matches, and a first aid kit that contained some needles and a thread, band aids, alcohol wipes and a small salve for burns. "No food," moaned Emma, that day's breakfast a forgotten memory.

A twig cracking made both Emma and Rue's head swivel in that direction. Throwing their items back into their packs, they shimmied up the nearest tree and perched on a limb. The culprit was a small girl, hunched over a small fire.

The air had gotten much colder in the nighttime, but Emma knew better than to light a fire. Rue and her were sharing her sleeping bag and their body heat, tied securely onto the branch. They tried to alternate keeping watch while the other slept, but neither could get their nerves to settle down, especially with the girl and her fire so close to their hiding spot.

Emma felt Rue tense before she actually saw the Career pack. They had surrounded the girl, who begged for her life. "Please! No!"

The laugh she heard was familiar. Cato.

"Allow me," offered Glimmer.

The next sound they heard was of a scream, and then the laughter of the Careers.

"Noooooo. Pleasseeeeee!" mocked Marvel.

"Ahhhhhhh!" mimicked Glimmer.

Cato inspected the tribute's pack. "Nothing! Just some matches, rope, and a bag of dried fruit." Pocketing the matches, he asked, "Anyone liked dried fruit?"

"Not me," answered Marvel.

"Yuck!" replied Glimmer.

Cato shrugged and tossed the backpack containing the rope and fruit into the fire. "Garbage then!"

The pack laughed and headed deeper into the forest, passing under the branch that held Rue and Emma. "One of cannons wasn't ours today, think the beloved Emmalyn is still alive?" asked Glimmer, bitterly.

"We are about to find out." Marvel nodded to the sky. "There's the anthem."

Rue and Emma held their breaths as the Career pack looked up at the sky. Emma would have liked to look at the sky as well, but she was terrified that the Careers would know they were less than ten feet away from each other if they moved in the slightest.

The anthem ended and Cato gruffly said, "I guess she's still out there."

"Aw, Cato. We'll find her soon enough. I'll even let you kill her," Glimmer smiled at Cato, running her hand down his arm. "Maybe we should set up camp. It's getting kind of late and it's pretty cold."

"This isn't a good spot. That fire might have attracted someone. Let's go a little longer."

Emma could picture Glimmer pouting as Glimmer said, "Ok, a little bit further then. Then it's time to fight the cold…I hope we'll be warm enough…"

As the Careers' voices grew distant, Emma and Rue slowly relaxed a bit. "Did you hear that?" asked Rue. "They are going after you!"

Emma nodded sadly. "I know. Maybe this isn't a smart alliance for you."

Rue hugged her. "We need each other. And they can't kill us if they can't catch us. We'll just stick to the trees. And head further from the Cornucopia. That's where all their stuff is."

"They must have a lot to burn that girl's food. I wish we had that problem," observed Emma, taking out the box of raisins and dividing it between Rue and her. Handing Rue her share of the food, she asked, "You know what I hate more than oatmeal?" Rue shrugged. "Raisins."

* * *

The next morning came soon. Emma was already up, keeping watch while Rue slept. Rue stirred next to her, but didn't wake. _How does she keep sleeping with all the noise from the birds? _Since District 2 was so industrialized, birds and other wild life were not common. In fact, all their meat came from animals born and raised in slaughter houses, jacked full of steroids from an early age, who never even get to see the sun. For a while Emma tried being a vegetarian because of the treatment of animals, but she became so malnourished that she was forced to go back to meat. Looking back, Emma thought it was for the best. Being a healthy vegetarian was expensive.

Rue shot up from her sleep with a gasp. Looking frantically around, she didn't seem to relax until Emma wrapped her in a hug. "Hey, it's just me. We are fine."

Nodding, Rue gave her a small smile. "Sorry, nightmare. I'm ready when you are!"

Emma's stomach growled. "First thing on the agenda, find water. Then food."

The pair unlatched themselves from the branch and touched down on the ground. Emma stretched. Sleeping in trees was not comfortable. "Do you know how to hunt?" asked Emma.

Rue shook her head. "We are pretty good at pointing out edible plants though. And with my climbing abilities, maybe we can grab some bird eggs."

"Sounds good! I'll search for the water and you look for food. How will we meet back up?"

Rue thought a second before answering, "Why not use the Mockingjays? Whistle this tune, have them mock it, and then we'll find a way to each other."

Emma smiled. "See you for dinner!" Walking parallel to the direction that the Careers went off in last night, Emma prayed she'd find water soon. As she walked, the trees grew taller and were denser, letting in less light. She was on edge, with every movement of the wild life or the wind swiveling her head in that direction.

Her body visibly relaxed when she saw the creek. _Oh thank God_. Her instincts told her to run to the water and drink until her lungs burst, but her mind warned her that she needed to be cautious as well as wait for the water to purify.

Filling up both her and Rue's water bottles, she waited the grueling 30 minutes before taking her first drink. Waiting a couple seconds to make sure that she wasn't going to drop dead, she knocked back the rest of the container, refilled it and then put in the purification drops before sprinting to find Rue, with a smile on her face. They were going to live.

* * *

Two weeks had passed since the Bloodbath. Emma and Rue had found a little grove that they liked to call home, complete with a patch of grass that would get hit with a ray of sun at a certain hour of the day and tall enough brush for protection. It was the sunning hour and Emma and Rue were laying on their patch of grass, trying to pass the time. "So how many of us are left?"

Emma counted on her fingers. "Well there were 13 the first day, so there were 11 left. We are still here, Cato, Glimmer, and Marvel are sadly still out there. Tresh is there. So that's six. …I think we are missing one. There's only 7 of us left."

Rue snapped her fingers. "The boy from District 3 is still alive. There's our seventh."

"Too bad the Careers are still going strong," thought Emma out loud. "I swear, all the fiber from these plants are messing with my digestive system. I could go for some meat. Hell, even some jerky would work."

Sitting up, Rue frowned. "We know where all their stuff is. We should even the playing field."

Emma sat up, too. "What are you suggesting?"

Rue glanced around and whispered it into Emma's ear. Emma gave Rue a worried look. "Should we really push our luck? We've been doing well so far. Even the Game Master has been leaving us alone."

"But for how long? There's too many of us left for being this late in the game. We need to make a move or we'll get targeted."

Rue made sense. Pulling Rue into a hug, Emma got to her feet. "See you for dinner?"

Rue grinned. "See you then."

* * *

Emma went down to the edge of the forest. The Cornucopia was in sight, the supplies piled high in front of it. The Career pack was in front, eating their lunch and laughing. Had they not been surrounded by weapons, Emma felt like they could have just been at a normal park in Panem, perhaps at a picnic. Surveying the area, Emma noticed that they gained the boy from District 3. She frowned, wondering what skill he had that the Careers needed.

The laughter stopped as the pack noticed the smoke from Rue's fire off in the distance. Cato and Glimmer stood and gestured to Marvel. When the boy from 3 moved to his feet, Cato stopped him. Emma couldn't hear the conversation, but from the body language and the pack leaving the boy, she assumed that he was left to guard their supplies.

Emma took a deep breath. _How to distract him…What should I do?_ She hadn't really been counting on the pack picking up another member, but she had faith in herself. Sprinting in the opposite direction of Rue's fire, Emma snatched green wood and started building one of her own. In no time, she had a healthy fire going and she headed back to her spot.

It took a few minutes for the boy to notice the smoke, and when he did, he reluctantly left the pile to investigate. Once he was no longer in her sight, she stepped out of the safety of the woods and examined the area of the Cornucopia.

Where the platforms once stood, there were holes, as if someone dug up the …_MINES! _Emma put two and two together. _So the boy from District 3 dug up the mines and surrounded the pile with them as a booby trap_. Looking down, Emma saw how close she was to a freshly buried mine and threw herself backwards, scrambling away.

_So when I blow this up, I need to have cover so I don't blow up with it. How the hell am I going to blow this up?_ Running back to the cover of the forest, Emma started grabbing rocks and throwing them at the mounds of dirt, praying that the force and the weight of the rocks were enough to trigger the explosion.

Emma picked and threw multiple rocks from around her area, with all of them either completely missing the mounds or not triggering them. Stepping out a bit from the forest, she tried again. Still no luck. A cry from her left made her turn in that direction. Glimmer, who was going to investigate Emma's fire was sprinting back to the Cornucopia, knife at the ready. Looking to her right, she noticed that the boy from District 3 had extinguished her fire and was due back soon.

Choosing to abandon her mission of blowing up the pile, Emma threw the rock in her hand in the direction of the pile and dashed to the protection of the woods. A searing pain flowed through her arm as one of Glimmer's knives found their mark and Emma stole a look over her shoulder. The rock that she threw managed to hit a bag of apples on top of the pile and a few apples fell off the crate and were suspended in midair from support from the rest of the bag.

The next few moments went in slow motion for Emma. She saw that a fourth apple was about to roll over the side of the crate and that weight would be enough to send the bag tumbling over the edge of the pile and onto the mines, triggering them. Looking at Glimmer, she saw her gaining on her, another knife aiming for Emma.

Reaching the forest line, Emma immediately leaped behind a tree stump and covered her ears, just in time for the explosion. Peaking around the trunk, she saw Glimmer's body, face down not 20 feet from Emma, leg bent at an awkward angle. Glimmer lifted her head and locked eyes with Emma, attempting to crawl to her. Unfortunately for Glimmer, all the rocks that Emma threw at the mines were blasted into the air and were raining down around them like hail. Emma managed to dodge the rocks by cowering under a tree, but Glimmer was not so lucky. A particularly large rock fell on her head, slowing her movement forward. Her body was pelted with more rocks and finally Glimmer's head remained faced down and she no longer moved. A cannon fired, and Emma released the breath she was holding.

Cato and Marvel arrived back at the remains of the pile the same time District 3's tribute did. Kicking at a piece of a box from the pile, Cato gave a roar that chilled Emma. Grabbing the boy's head, he lifted his body above the ground and snapped his neck before throwing his body to the side.

Marvel, on the other hand, noticed Glimmer's body and ran to it. He turned her body over to rest her head in his lap, releasing a howl of sadness. His eyes shot in the direction of where Glimmer's body was faced, connecting with Emma's. Grabbing his spear, Marvel charged to the woods.

Rushing to her feet, Emma sprinted deep into the forest, desperate to get away from the revenge-bent Marvel. The trees scratched Emma's face and irritated her cut, which was bleeding heavily. She had no planned destination, but instead kept running, praying that Rue would remain safe.

Panting for breath and lungs burning, she heard the mockingjays singing their tune. _Why didn't we make a danger signal!_ Ignoring the birds, Emma tried to run in the opposite direction that the song was coming from, hoping that by not responding Rue would realize that she was in trouble.

She broke through the brush into a clearing and knocked into Rue. "Omf! Emma! What's wrong?"

Emma struggled to catch her breath, but gestured behind her and tried to pull Rue to her feet. Looking down at Rue, she saw the spear sticking out of chest. Rue sadly looked at Emma and gargled out, "D-Did you blow..?"

As Rue's eyes closed, Emma answered, "Every bit of it." The corners of Rue's mouth turned up as her cannon fired.

Glaring over her shoulder and narrowing her eyes, Emma rushed at Marvel, relying only on her instinct. His spear was currently buried in Rue so Emma was able to tackle him to the ground. She straddled him, pinning down his arms with her feet and legs and stabbed at Marvel's head, but was thrown off him, causing the blade to miss.

Marvel tried wrestling the knife out of Emma's hand, but she kept kicking him in his side and tightening her grip on the knife. He managed to get her hands behind her back and slammed her face first into the ground. He also squeezed on her cut, causing her to cry out in pain.

"Told you I'd kill that stupid bitch. And since you somehow managed to kill Glimmer, I guess I'll just do the honors," growled Marvel, into Emma's ear.

Sending her head back, Emma smashed it into the front of Marvel's face, releasing herself from his grasp. Getting to her feet, she anticipated Marvel grabbing her again and twisted his arm back, sending him to his knees. Raising her boot she stomped it down on his shoulder, dislocating it from its socket. Pushing himself up to his feet, he went for her again and she sent the knife into his kidney. Marvel winced in pain, but grabbed Emma's wounded arm with his good one and dug his fingers into the wound.

Blinded by the pain, Emma just kept stabbing Marvel in his side before he went limp against her and his cannon fired. Sagging to the ground tiredly, Emma crawled to Rue's body and placed her head in her lap. She pulled the spear from Rue's body and zipped up her coat. _Now it looks like you are sleeping._ Kissing the top of her head, Emma let the tears fall, no longer caring about looking tough. She had just lost her best friend and was truly alone.

* * *

A rustling from the bushes, signaled another person. Emma didn't even turn her head; she was completely defeated.

"Emma."

She turned at her name and stared into Cato's eyes, tears still dripping from hers. He looked at Marvel's lifeless form and then Rue's, in Emma's hands. "Emma, I'll give you ten seconds. I suggest you take them."

"…Why? What's the point?"

"Ten…"

Emma sniffed and moved her hand to wipe her nose, snagging it on her necklace.

"Nine…"

Turning the pendant around in her hand, she remembered her father.

"Eight…" Cato started walking towards Emma.

She had to get back to him. She was all he had left.

"Five…"

Emma strengthened her resolve. _If I'm gonna lose, it's not gonna be this way._

"I'll be quick," promised Cato, raising his sword over Emma.

Swinging her legs out from under Rue, she kicked Cato swiftly in the side of the knee, sending him tumbling to the ground. Grabbing her and Marvel's pack, she darted off into the woods, yet again with a Career hot on her trail.

Cato crashed through the trees, being so loud that Emma didn't have to look back to know how close he was to her. As she neared the river, she realized that she would have to make a decision of whether or not to cross it. It was too much for her to jump, and she didn't see a bridge, manmade or otherwise. _Climbing it is!_

Picking a younger tree with thinner branches, Emma started climbing, sitting just out of reach of Cato. Climbing was hard, especially with her wounded arm, and she gasped in pain every time she tried to pull herself up to another branch.

Standing at the base of the tree, Cato smirked at her. "Still got some fight left in you, huh Emma? Glad you are trying to make this exciting."

She shook her head. It was still a game to him. His two allies were dead, and he was still having fun. "You are sick, Cato."

He laughed and started to climb. "I'm gonna get youuuuuuuu."

For every branch that he climbed, Emma went up two. Soon the branches were too thin to support Cato and one snapped, sending him crashing to the bottom of the tree.

Looking down, Emma called out, "You ok, Cato?"

Dusting himself off, Cato sneered at her. "I'll just wait it out. Don't worry. You'll starve up there long before I do." He sat with his back against the tree and dug into his pack. Grabbing a package of beef jerky, he bit into one. "Hungry, Emma?" He waved the bag back and forth teasingly.

She ignored him and her growling stomach and looked for her first aid kit. Opening an alcoholic wipe, she gingerly took off her jacket and inspected her arm. The cut itself wasn't overly deep originally, but after Marvel stuck his fingers in it, it was gapping and bleeding. Tying herself to the branch, she took a deep breath, knowing that intense pain was soon to follow. Wiping the area as well as she could and struggling not to pass out from the pain, Emma took the thread and needle and started to stitch her arm back together. Tying a knot at the end and biting off the string, Emma took a deep breath and allowed the darkness to overcome her.

* * *

So this isn't exactly where I wanted to end, but the scenes I have planned next don't really have a spot to break so I'm just gonna stop here. Hopefully you guys liked the action scenes. Those are always so hard to write, especially when I'm picturing the scene in my head and I don't know how to word what is happening.

I'm thinking that there are going to be two more chapters left in this story and then I'm free to write my Marvel story! Hurrah! Actually, I think I promised one of my reviewers that I'd finish my NYSI fic first, but I digress. Story's almost done! Yay!

Reader input would be really helpful here. I have it that there are only 3 (!) tributes left (Cato, Emma, Thresh) and I'm debating making the same District rule or not. I'm also debating having the stereotypical happy ending where Cato and the OC win and life happily ever after. Gah. This is normally why I don't finish my stories. I don't know how to end them. :[

Review and tell me your ideas please! And let me know if the action did anything for you. If not, I might be a bit more vague it next time just to save you guys from reading crap and me from writing it.

And go watch Jack Quaid's "Sitting Babies." Hilarious!


	6. Chapter 6

Everyone wants a sappy, happy ending, so I'll do my best to give it to you guys. I tend to like darker stories, but I'm making an effort to make this chapter more cutesy. Thanks for all those who are reviewing!

Oh, and I changed what tracker jacker poison does so I can add more to the story.

**Disclaimer:** Only one or two chapters left after this one!

* * *

Emma regained consciousness as dusk was falling. Wincing as her movement to get more comfortable on her branch irritated her arm, Cato called out to her. "Care to get your stupid sponsor's gift yet? That chiming is about to drive me nuts."

Tempted to leave the gift alone to see if the chiming really would drive Cato away, Emma's curiosity got the better of her. Climbing the few branches to where the gift was tangled, she tore the note off of it.

**Emma,**

**You have sponsors; people want you to win. Hang in there. **

**- Felix**

A part of her wanted to laugh. Felix's words reminded her of a poster she had hanging in her room. It was a kitten, dangling off a branch, with the words, "The worst is almost over, hang in there" on it. She was then overcome with a bought of homesickness. Pushing that aside, she looked at the container's contents. Inside was a plate of fresh fruit and a bottle of water. _Not quite what I expected, but appreciated nonetheless. _"Thank you," whispered Emma, knowing the camera would catch her words.

"Whatcha get?" asked Cato, squinting up at her, attempting to get a look for himself.

"Just some fresh fruit and water," answered Emma. "Hey…I'll trade you some fruit for some jerky…"

Cato considered her offer. "Why?"

Emma sighed. "Because I haven't had meat in a while and I'm really craving it. You don't have to take the deal, I just wanted to throw it out there."

"It's fine, I'll accept. I'll give you half of my jerky for half of your fruit."

"How do I know that you aren't holding out on me? Or giving me poisonous food?" asked Emma suspiciously.

"Hey, you made the deal. But honestly, you aren't planning on living in that tree for the rest of your life, are you? Let's just do the trade, eat our food and duke it out in the morning."

Pondering his suggestion, Emma realized that it was bound to happen, and it might as well happen sooner rather than later. Dividing up the fruit, she sent it down in the container, tied to her rope. When it reached Cato, Emma was prepared for Cato giving her rope a firm tug that would send her crashing to the ground, but he surprised her by honoring their deal and sending up his half of the beef jerky.

Emma eyed the jerky, looking for any clue that would let her know that it had been tampered with. "I spent my entire life training for the Games. I'm not going to bring down an opponent by poisoning their food, geez. Will you just eat it already!" complained Cato.

Taking a small nibble out of the jerky and waiting a minute to see if she would fall over dead, she decided that he really didn't mess with her food and that she was good to indulge. "Thanks, Cato," she called down to him, mouth full of jerky and fruit.

Cato just nodded. "Everything will be different, come morning," he muttered under his breath, settling into his spot under her tree and getting ready for sleep to come.

* * *

Emma was awake long before the sun's rays crossed the land. Her arm was a bit stiffened from the wound and from keeping it immobilized all night, but the stitches were holding and she was sure that it hadn't gotten infected. A glance down at Cato's form showed that he was still sleeping and Emma held her breath as she untied herself from her branch and put all her things away.

As she turned to go onto a lower branch, she saw the hive. "Tracker jackers," she breathed. Another glance at the ground revealed that Cato's sleep was getting lighter and more restless. The tracker jackers seemed to move sluggishly in the early morning and did not appear bothered by Emma's presence…for now. Taking a deep breath, Emma took out her knife and started cutting at the branch.

It seemed with every slice of the blade the tracker jackers' buzzing grew louder. Drawing her hood around her head, Emma managed to avoid a sting to her neck, but couldn't avoid the two to her hands. Even though she had just received the stings, the pain was instantaneous. Leaning her weight against the branch, she heard it snap and crash down to the ground below. The howl from Cato told Emma that he was awake and running away from her and towards the nearby river.

Desperately clawing the stingers out of her hands, Emma's body grew weak as the poison coursed through it. Shoving her backpack on her back, she started the climb down to the ground, reciting the facts she knew about tracker jackers to keep focused. "Tracker jacker poison intensifies emotions and feeds off of others' emotions. Negative emotions will cause extreme pain and vivid hallucinations. The wounds swell to full size after a full minute after being stung and –"

Misjudging the distance between her and the next branch, Emma's foot slipped and she was sent crashing down the last couple of feet to land next to the broken hive. The buzzing was even angrier than when she was cutting down the hive and she instinctively ran for the river to avoid them, diving head first into the water and clutching at the shoreline.

The tracker jackers did not follow her into the water, but a splash not that far from her sent her running in the opposite direction of the noise.

"I'll fucking kill you, Emma!" growled Cato, barreling through the water after her.

Running through the water, Emma risked going on shore in order to move faster. Unfortunately for her, she was water logged by both her jacket and her backpack, so she unzipped her jacket and shed both of them in one movement.

Glancing over her shoulder, she was tackled by Cato and was sent tumbling to the ground. Wriggling her way out from under him, she felt a sharp pain. _Your fear is negative. Think happy thoughts. _Emma tried to remember getting accepted into Oxvard with a full scholarship and her father's face. She felt the pain easing just as Cato landed a blow to her stomach, knocking the wind out from her.

She bent over as the wind left her body, inhaling deeply, happy thoughts fading and anger replacing it. Determination renewed, Emma was able to rush Cato, a move that was unexpected and aim a kick towards Cato's shoulder, effectively weakening the blow he attempted to send her way. She darted to him and gave him a round house kick that snapped his head back and sent him on his butt on the ground.

Emma sent him a smirk as she stood in her defensive stance, waiting for Cato's next move. _Something…feels different_. Even though she pulled the stingers out from her wounds, the poison was already flowing through her blood. Since Cato was so much bigger than Emma, she assumed that even though he had more stings, the poison took longer to go through his system. _This must be when the poison peaks between us. That's why I'm feeling so weird. But…what am I feeling?_

Wiping the blood that dripped from his nose with the back of his hand, Cato returned the smirk and took off his shirt, which was soaked and sticking to his body, and threw it to the side never once breaking eye contact with Emma. Emma's eyes widened. _Was this some type of distraction tactic? _She then realized that her white shirt, which was also soaked from the river was now skin tight and completely see-through. Feeling self conscious, she attempted to throw a few jabs at Cato which he easily deflected.

He threw some lazy punches toward Emma, herding her until she felt a tree trunk against her back. Cato continued to close in on her, grabbing her throat in one hand but not applying much pressure. Their want for each other's blood changed into something else. Emma realized the emotion as soon as Cato's lips descended on hers. Lust.

Releasing her neck so his hands could run to the bottom of her wet shirt and then under it, Emma shivered as his heat hit her cold body. Tangling her fingers into his hair, she yanked him closer as he pressed her deeper into the tree. Reaching lower to cup her butt, Cato lifted her up and tugged her legs to wrap around him so that it was only his body pressed against her holding her upright.

This was not romantic by any means. The line between bloodlust and physical lust may have been blurred, but it was still a fight for dominance. If Emma could see what the citizens of Panem were seeing, she'd be repulsed by the way the two of them were ravaging each other instead of exchanging loving embraces.

She bit Cato's lip, hard enough to draw blood and felt him smirk against her lips. In retaliation, he focused his attention on a spot on Emma's neck, nipping and sucking it hard enough to leave a bruise and yet earning a hiss of pleasure from Emma. Dragging his face back to hers so she could crush their lips together, he responded by grinding against Emma, effectively digging Emma's back into the rough bark of the tree. Her nails clawed into his shoulders and dragged down his bare back, leaving angry trails of red.

Parting for air, their eyes locked, green against blue, before their lips met again, almost hesitantly, with the previous urgency leaving and being replaced with a more tender exchange. It was as if they were just enjoying what little time they had left and the fact that they weren't alone.

A crack of lightning and the boom of thunder which sent a torrent of rain down on the land finally broke the couple's kiss. Looking up, Emma said, "They are changing the environment."

Following her gaze, Cato countered, "Or introducing a new element." Cato's head snapped to his right. "Did you hear that?"

Emma shook her head and found herself pouting when Cato reluctantly pulled away from her. Adjusting her top and picking up the dagger she dropped, she offered, "Maybe it's just the wild –"

At that moment, two large wolf-like creatures hopped out of the brush and growled at the pair. Backing up, Cato yelled, "Emma! Start climbing!"

Scrambling up the tree that they were just previously making out on, Emma bent down to lend a hand to Cato. He swung his sword at the two animals, keeping them at bay before grabbing Emma's hand and hauling himself up to her branch.

"Think they can climb?" asked Emma.

Looking down at the animals circling their tree, Cato shook his head. "I think they would have tried already if they could."

Emma released a gasp. "Oh my God. Cato. Those are former tributes! Look! Their collars have their District numbers. These are the District 6 tributes. I…killed the boy on the first day. They must have mixed the fallen tributes' DNA with that of a wolf or something."

He nodded in understanding. "So the smaller one must be the girl. She was the one who was dumb enough to light a fire the first night."

The girl mutation growled as if she heard and understood what Cato said. She snarled and attempted to run up the tree to the branch where Cato and Emma were sitting, but was unable to get far since her claws couldn't get a grip on the trunk.

Looking over at Emma, Cato asked, "How is your throwing skill?"

Emma snorted. "Pathetic. Here's my knife. You do it."

Cato shook his head. "No, I need you to hit one of the wolves and I'll jump down and kill the other one while it is distracted."

"I understand your plan but I don't know how well I can execute it. I don't think you understand how awful I am with weapons."

"All you need is confidence and faith. And to hold the dagger like this." Cato wrapped Emma's hand around the hilt, guiding it with his own. After their heated moment not minutes ago, Emma found it hard not to feel awkward.

"Um, thanks."

"Ready? Throw it when one of them jumps at the tree."

As if on cue, the boy mutation rushed the tree. Throwing the knife, it flipped in the air and the hilt of the knife smacked the mutation on the nose, earning a snort of annoyance from the wolf, but dealing no damage.

Raising his eyebrow at Emma, he asked, "Really?"

Emma crossed her arms around her chest. "You said all I needed was faith and confidence! And it's raining and it's cold and I don't know what I'm doing!"

Cato rolled his eyes. "Now, we wait, until either they get bored and leave or until we see an opening."

Emma nodded and tucked herself into a fetal position attempting to conserve her body heat and remain distant from Cato. Water trickling from her hair to her neck and then on to her clothes to seep to her skin, Emma peeked a look at Cato. Back against the trunk with one leg dangling off one side of the branch and the other bent so he could rest his elbow on it, he met Emma's gaze and raised an eyebrow. "Need something?" he asked, annoyance in his voice.

Frowning, Emma crawled closer to him. "I'm cold."

At first he gave her a look as if he was going to reject her, but after rolling his eyes and looking away, he let his other leg fall making room for Emma. Positioning herself between his legs, she rested her back against his chest and wrapped his arms snuggly around her so she could settle closer to his body. Glancing down at Emma, he warned, "We are only in a truce now. Once we get rid of this dog situation, we go our separate ways. And if we come across each other again, we fight to the death."

* * *

Guessing that only an hour had passed with the two of them being stuck in the tree, not much had happened. The mutations hadn't given up on the pair and Emma was only getting colder. Her teeth had started chattering and she had a feeling that her lips were turning blue. It didn't help that the raining hadn't let up either, and was still falling consistently at a heavy pace.

"Emma, can you please stop that chattering?" snapped Cato, voice rising.

"I'm s-s-sorry." She tried covering her mouth with her hand. "I can't get them to s-s-stop."

Cato sighed and flipped Emma so that she was straddling him on the branch and held her against his bare chest. "Better? I'm even wearing less clothing than you and my teeth aren't chattering."

Emma clung to Cato, trying to get as close to his core as possible to get the most amount of heat from their position.

Shaking his head, Cato had another tactic. "Let's try this."

Placing a hand on her cheek, Cato guided her to his lips, kissing her tenderly. She returned the kiss eagerly, running her hands up and down Cato's chest and abs. He grinned against her lips. "Your hands are cold."

She looked away sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Hey, it worked," whispered Cato, grabbing Emma's chin and guiding her back to face him. She gave him a small smile before placing a soft kiss on his lips.

Tilting her head, it was her turn to ask, "Do you hear something?"

"I don't think so? I still hear those mutts under us."

Separating herself from Cato, Emma climbed a bit higher in the tree. "Another gift!"

Grabbing it, she handed the container to Cato and looked at the note.

**Survive any way you guys want, but try to keep it rated PG-13, kay?**

**-Felix**

She felt her face turn red as she blushed, finally remember that she was on camera 24/7 and that everyone in Panem was tuned in. Showing the message to Cato, she gasped in delight. "Soup!"

"Stew," corrected Cato. "And still hot."

"Oh thank god for that."

Portioning out the stew, Emma and Cato ate in silence, both too busy quelling their hunger and warming their insides to speak. When they finished, Cato stole another glance at the mutations. "Still there."

Emma looked longingly at the other portion of the stew. "We need to do something. We can't stay up here forever."

Nodding, Cato pointed at the mutations. "Look, one is gone and the other is laying down. I think it's waiting us out and the other went to go find Thresh."

"Don't you think there are more mutations? I mean, these are two of the fallen tributes, right? And there are currently 21 tributes dead. Wouldn't they all be mutated and running around now?"

Pondering her points, Cato agreed. "You make good arguments, but we don't have a lot of time and we don't know when our next chance will be."

A howl in the distance caused everyone's ears to perk. The boy mutation ran off in the direction of the howl, leaving Cato and Emma to wonder if this was finally their moment. Scooting down to the edge of their branch, Cato attempted to jump down to the next branch before jumping down to the ground. As his foot lay dangling and reaching for the next branch, Emma called out, "Cato watch out!" as she swung from the one branch and kicked the girl mutation in the head and landed squarely on her neck as they both landed on the ground. The snap that she heard as the girl mutation's neck was crushed under the weight of Emma and their momentum allowed Emma to release the breath she was holding. Turning towards Cato, who had landed on the ground beside her, she held her thumbs up. "One down –"

Seeing the boy mutation before Emma, Cato pushed Emma out of the boy mutation's path and took the blow, full impact. He released a grunt of pain as the wolf landed on top of him, claws digging into his chest mercilessly and teeth desperate to close in around Cato's throat. The only thing stopping them was the fact that Cato had both halves of the mutation's mouth in his hands as he struggled to push the beast off him.

"Cato!" cried out Emma, grabbing Cato's fallen sword and running towards her fallen District 2 tribute.

Snarling back at the mutation, Cato grunted and pried the wolf's mouth open and then past what its natural movement was. All Emma heard was a whimper before Cato pulled both halves of the mouth so far apart that the mutation's head split, right up the middle, killing it and spraying blood, spit and guts all over Cato and Emma.

Dropping the sword that she didn't even use, all Emma could say about the scene was, "Ew."

Thankful for the rain now, Emma rinsed the goop off her with the droplets. Cato pushed the dead corpse of the mutation off him, wincing in pain, a movement that Emma didn't miss.

Rushing to his side, Emma looked at the gaping wound in Cato's chest. She stifled a gasp and resisted gagging.

Propping himself on his elbows, he glanced at his chest. "Looks pretty bad, doesn't it?" He tried to smirk at Emma but had to cough, leaving blood on his hands.

"Cato, we need to get you dry so I can stitch you up."

He shook his head. "I'm done for. Go on. Kill Thresh. You've now killed all the Careers. You've proven that you are a real contestant." He coughed again, causing him to wince again. "Win for District 2. Go home to your dad."

Emma's eyes started to water. "C'mon Cato. I didn't kill you. I'm no threat to you. You saved me. And I'm going to save you. So help me help you. I can't carry all your weight."

"Em, we need shelter. We need supplies. We have none of that."

"We have the supplies to stitch you up. And we have food. Shelter we can find…"

A flare went off in the dark, landing a bit above the river showing a small cave. Emma smiled. "Seems like Felix found that for us too."

* * *

Acting as a crutch for Cato, the pair hobbled up the rocks to the little cave. Throwing the flare inside, Emma used it as a light to scope out the area. The cave was small; barely able to be called a cave. It was about a body length deep and a body length wide. Extinguishing the flare, Emma helped Cato move out of the rain. "It's small, but it should work."

Plopping onto the ground, Cato scooted to the edge of the cave and leaned against a wall, wincing and short of breath. Emma stuck her head outside and grabbed a few branches to throw in front of the cave's entrance to keep wild animals out and to disguise it a bit from the mutated tributes and from Tresh. Once done with that, she turned her attention to Cato. Opening her mouth, she was cut off.

"Take off your clothes," ordered Cato.

Emma gave him a look of shock. "What?"

Digging in his pack, Cato repeated, "Take off your clothes."

"No!"

Sighing, Cato slowly repeated the sentence a third time. "Take. Off. Your. Clothes."

"No, I need to get you stitched up. You are delusional."

"Emma, you are soaked and your clothes are only making you colder. You'll get sick if you stay in them. I have something for you, you won't be running around naked, just trust me."

Giving a look of disbelief, Emma slowly started undressing. "Are you going to look away?"

Rolling his eyes, Cato muttered, "Nothing I haven't seen before," before he made an obvious motion of looking away. Sticking out his arm, he handed her his jacket. "Here. I kept it in my pack earlier and thanks to our waterproof backpacks, it's dry and warm."

Emma took it and threw it over her bra and panties. "It's huge on me," laughed Emma.

Peeking that Emma was dressed, Cato turned towards Emma, who was struggling to push up the jacket's sleeves without it falling down. Undoing her fishtail braid, and shaking out her waves, she took the two elastic bands and used them to hold the sleeves up in place. She grinned in success at Cato and he couldn't help but return the smile as he knelt in front of her.

Zipping up the jacket for her, Emma cupped his face and smiled. "Thank you, Cato." She kissed his forehead, lips cool against his burning forehead. "Oh god Cato, you have a high fever!"

She laid out the sleeping bag to act as a cushion against the rough ground while Cato stripped down to his boxers to get out of his wet pants. Lying on the sleeping bag, Cato gritted his teeth. "Do it."

Inspecting his wound, Emma gasped. "Cato, he tore through muscle. I'll have to stitch that together and we don't have any aesthesia."

"I'll be fine. Just do it."

Eyes watering, Emma shook her head. "I don't know if I can do it. I've only read how to do it. I'm not trained."

"Emma, look at me." Slowly raising her head, Emma met Cato's gaze. "You didn't know that you could make it this far into the Hunger Games, and you did. You didn't know that you could kill people, and you have. You didn't think that you'd win sponsors and you've gained some. Seems like your track record for not knowing things and then succeeding is pretty damn good so fucking stitch me up so I'm not in so much god damn pain!" Cato panted for breath. "Please."

Nodding, Emma got the supplies she needed out of the first aid kit and got started. Throughout the procedure, Cato was mainly quiet and still, minus a twitch or two when Emma hit an especially tender spot or when a grunt of pain escaped him.

"Done," breathed Emma, small smile on her face. Putting away the supplies and using the rain to wash the blood off her hands, she looked at Cato. He was covered in sweat and was looking pale. "Cato…?"

He rolled his head to the side and gave her a sad smile. "Feels…better…already," he grunted out.

Moving to sit next to Cato, she reached for his hand, grasped it and gave it a squeeze. "I have first watch. I'll keep you safe." She brought his hand to her lips and gave it a soft kiss as Cato's eyes closed as he drifted to sleep.

* * *

Emma must've drifted off to sleep for a bit as well, for when she opened her eyes again, the sky was slightly lighter, even though the rain hadn't slowed down. Checking on Cato, she noted that he was still hot with fever and sweating profusely and his breathing was labored. His stitching looked good and was holding together, but whimpers of pain and twitches still plagued Cato, even in his sleep.

Brushing some of Cato's hair back, she noticed that even though he shaved his hair very short for Day 1 of the Games, it had already grown to his interview length and even a bit past it, giving him bed head. Inspecting her own locks, she realized that they had grown to only past and under her breasts, probably due to her malnurishment. Thankful that she didn't have to give herself a mid-Hunger Games haircut, she was pulled back to reality by Cato waking and shifting a sitting position.

"How long was I out?" he asked, shifting up and down until he found a comfortable position.

"Maybe half a day. Not as long as I thought you'd be. How do you feel?" asked Emma.

"Hungry. Got any stew left?"

Emma smiled at his answer. "We still have the other half of it. If we cut that in half, we can probably make it last at least another day."

Nodding, Cato agreed. "Yes, let's do that. Not like we can go foraging again soon, not until after I heal up better. Is it still raining?"

"Sadly," answered Emma. "But at least it's a fresh source of water and it's easy to obtain. The river is rising though."

"I think they are changing the environment. Remember that one year when it was just like how our arena started off like and then for the last 3 people they made it a desert? They have the power to do anything. And they are probably trying to make it more interesting. Is Thresh still out there?"

"To the best of my knowledge. I didn't hear a cannon, but that doesn't mean he's not cold and starving and weak." Opening the stew, Emma was pleased that it was still warm. "Gotta love the Capital and their trinkets."

Getting a spoonful for Cato, she alternated between feeding the both of them. "Thanks Emma," said Cato, swallowing his last spoonful. "But whenever it stops raining, we part ways and our truce is over. It's the rules of the Hunger Games."

Emma sighed loudly. "Can we please stop talking about killing each other? Please? Can't we just have these X amount of days to escape from the horrors of the Games and then talk about killing each other when we cross that bridge, please?"

Shrugging, Cato offered, "If you want. I'm just being realistic."

Rolling her eyes, Emma warned, "Cato, I could kill you now, if I really wanted to."

He sent her a cold smirk. "I could kill you too. I can still break your neck just as easily as before."

"Tell me how you got into the academy."

Cato was taken back by Emma's topic change. "What? Why?"

"I don't know. Because we have time to kill before we can really do anything and I want to know how someone gets into the academy."

Humoring her, Cato shrugged again. "Um, well, when I was young, I used to always run around, pretending I was this great hero. I found this stick on the ground and it was long and narrow but sturdy and it had two nubs sticking off near the base of it." Cato sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "I, uh, used to pretend it was a sword."

Emma gave him a kind smile. "And what did you name it?"

He grinned at her. "The Six-Fingered Sword."

She swatted playfully at him. "No way! You did not name it after the sword in The Princess Bride!"

Cato propped himself on his elbows. "I can't believe you got that reference. That movie is so old, way before our time."

"Are you kidding me? It's only like my favorite movie ever."

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die," quoted Cato, doing his impression.

Emma busted out laughing. "Oh, that is a horrible accent that you just attempted."

Cato frowned. "You try it then, hotshot."

Clearing her throat, Emma repeated, "My name is Inigo Montoya. Prepare to die!"

Giving her a couple claps of approval, Cato complimented her. "Not too shabby. I still think mine is better."

Rolling her eyes, Emma countered, "Because you totally aren't biased." She shot him a smile. "So you had this stick."

"The Six-Fingered Sword," corrected Cato.

"Ok, ok, you had this Six-Fingered Sword and you'd run around playing pretend. How did this lead to the academy?"

"Well, every young boy dreams of adventure and being tough and going to the academy, so I was pretty much average in that sense. And when I turned 7, I told my parents I wanted to go into the academy."

"Were they proud?"

"Ha, no. In fact, they wouldn't even consider it. I know it isn't the case for your family, seeing as your mom was a doctor and your dad was a penny pincher, but even though I'm from District 2, my family wasn't very well off." He seemed a bit embarrassed to admit it out loud. "Especially with 4 kids."

"I didn't know that you had siblings."

Cato nodded. "Yep, 3 younger sisters."

Emma smiled. "I bet that was fun to grow up with."

Cato's smile didn't quite meet his eyes. "They used to always play pranks on me. When I was younger I used to think they were annoying and I was jealous that they always got more attention and an easier workload, but they are family. And they eventually grew on me." He grinned at her. "The youngest one, Tayna, she's 9 now. She and I were always close. Must've been something about being the eldest and being the baby that united us. That girl could get me to do anything for her though. When she grows up, all the boys better watch out. One, because hopefully I'll be there to break any guy's legs who ever hurts her. And two, because that girl is too sly for her own good."

A part of Emma softened toward Cato. She had originally asked her question to kill time, but she hadn't expected Cato to really open up to her. Watching Cato shift uncomfortably on the ground, she moved behind him and put his head in her lap. Playing absentmindedly with Cato's hair, she stated, "I always wanted siblings, but it wasn't in the cards for me."

Giving her a ghost of a sympathetic smile, Cato continued with his story. "Since I hit a growth spurt early, I was much taller and bigger than most 7 year olds and so I lied and said I was 10 and got a job picking up the scrap metal from the weapons factory floors. It helped make me faster, I like to think, because you better dodge the embers from the flames and coals as well as get the scraps without being in the way of the blacksmiths. I was also lucky that the weapons factory was hiring and not the armor since that's where my parents worked." Cato smiled, thinking back on his past memory. "I remember getting my first pay check and handing it directly to my parents stating that they needed to put it towards my academy fund."

"And they didn't even know that you were working?"

"Not at all. They were so pissed that I had been missing school to go work that they made me take summer school and they told me that they were putting my check in a fund for college. It wasn't until after summer school that I found out that they decided that I was actually serious about going to the academy and had started working extra shifts and putting aside money for me to go. They did everything in their power to get me to the academy, and for that, I'll always be grateful."

"Was it worth it?"

Cato laughed. "If I win this, then yes. And the academy was good for me. It helped me gain confidence and it gave me a way to relieve stress. Plus with all the tournaments and with my skills, I won tons of money to payback and help out my parents. I don't regret anything. The academy was hard, but it really- " Cato yawned. "-it really helped me through some rough times and made me the man I am today."

"Are you happy with that man?" asked Emma. When she got no reply, she glanced at the boy in her lap. Looking down, she saw that Cato had his eyes closed and his breathing was steady. "You would fall asleep." Shaking her head she examined Cato. His face was blank and didn't hold a frown or had furrowed brows. He looked peaceful. "You know, from this angle and in your current state, you look almost harmless."

Looking out at the entrance and still seeing the heavy rain, Emma turned her attention on herself. Checking her stitches in her arm, she was pleased to see that her wound had healed well. Taking out the stitches, she frowned. "Well that's going to scar…"

Cato snorted in his sleep and turned in her lap. Smiling down at him, Emma allowed herself to close her eyes and catch up on some sleep.

* * *

"So it's my turn to ask a question, right?"

"Well I asked last time so go ahead. Attempt to enter my mind," answered Emma, playfully.

"Why did you hate the Careers so much when we were in school?" asked Cato seriously.

"What? I didn't hate you guys. I mean, we weren't friends but I always felt like it was because we weren't in the same group, you know?" Emma shrugged her shoulders. "You guys were the popular kids. I was…a nobody."

Cato shifted on the ground next to Emma, laying on his side and using his elbow as a prop in order to look at Emma. "Em, you were never open to talking to us and you would make an effort to do the exact opposite of us."

Mirroring his position, she responded, "We had different tastes. I was useless with a weapon and was not physically fit at all. And you guys would throw parties but they were really awkward to go to since I was never really invited. You Careers are kind of elitists."

He frowned at her. "I swear I can remember you at some parties back when we were younger, before you starting dating that twat Gideon. Maybe we only became elitists because of what he would tell you."

"Well you guys picked on him all the time, why would he have anything good to say about you guys?" defended Emma, irritation evident.

Cato took a deep breath. "Em, Gideon was a creep. He was so obsessed with his cameras and photography. Do you know what he took pictures of? His portfolio is probably full of disgusting things, that pervert. I caught him peeping at my sisters once, I almost killed him, I was so angry."

Emma's face fell. "I remember that. He came back with a black eye and broken nose and all scraped up. He said that you jumped him for no reason and that you were a loose cannon."

"I would have done much worse to him if my friends didn't pull me off him," snarled Cato. "He also has a restraining order against him. My one friend, Sasna, do you remember her?" Emma shook her head. "Well apparently he used to stalk her to the point where she transferred districts."

Emma shook her head. "I don't believe you. I dated Gideon for a long time and I never saw a dark side. How do you know so much about Gideon anyways? When did you take an interest in an average kid like him? What made him so special?"

Looking Emma in the eye, Cato answered, "He was dating you."

* * *

Ok so this wasn't originally where I was going to stop but the next stopping point is a couple thousand words away so I didn't want an epic chapter. Hopefully this was a nice change from the other chapters!

Please review. All opinions are welcomed :]


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